Creating malaise

Graph #1: Real GDP Growth Rate, and Trend Lines

Look at the range of dates often called the Great Inflation -- from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s. The red trend-line is low then, a flatland between 5% hills and 4% hills.

Growth in those years is often said to have been disappointing:

  • Chris Kissell:

In the 1970s, the American economy faced the dual problems of high unemployment and high inflation. The origins of this problem began in the late 1960s, and the economy was adversely impacted through the early 1980s. Overall, the American economy experienced malaise for almost 15 years.

  • U.S. History.org:

Nothing fuels a strong case of malaise like a sputtering economy.

  • Wikipedia:

The 1970s were perhaps the worst decade of most industrialized countries' economic performance since the Great Depression. Although there was no severe economic depression as witnessed in the 1930s, economic growth rates were considerably lower than previous decades.

"Economic growth rates were considerably lower" in the 1970s. You can see it on the graph, between the mid-1960s peak and the mid-1980s peak. But what else do you see?

I see the Federal Reserve fighting inflation by slowing growth, creating troughs in 1967 and 1970 and 1975 and 1980 and 1982. Those troughs did a remarkable job of creating "malaise" and making growth look bad.