Does It Feel That Way To You??

[MA-Caver]

I do get a sense of Deja Vu sometimes... But I don't know if it's a 30+ year comparison or not.

Today's crunch feels like '70s

By Michael E. Kanell
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/13/08 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2008/07/13/seventies.html?referrer=search_buy High oil prices, a sluggish economy, persistent inflation, an unpopular president and the Eagles are out on tour.
Sounds like a rerun of the 1970s.
But it is also a snapshot from the summer of 2008 —- even if it does conjure images from the past.
"The similarities are there," said economist Gerald Lynch of Purdue University. "That was a miserable time for the economy. And the clothes were ugly, too."
Wide ties may not be making a comeback, but hints of the era's economics are in the air.
One of the stars of that original '70s show was stagflation, a term invented to describe a mix of rapid inflation and near-stagnant growth. The word has re-entered the economic vocabulary of late.
"As far as I can see, the wheels have fallen off the wagon," said Peter Miralles, president of Atlanta Wealth Consultants. "This is as close to the '70s as we have seen in the past couple of decades."
First, the sluggishness: Gross domestic product the past two quarters has expanded by less than 1 percent. The economy shed 438,000 jobs in the first six months of the year, while the official unemployment rate has climbed to 5.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the official measure of inflation has been running slightly higher than 4 percent per year —- while energy prices have more than doubled.
Yet comparing the current moment to the 1970s can offer some reassurance: Today's numbers pale beside the Hotel California Era.
In 1975, unemployment peaked at 9 percent, fell for a while and then climbed to 7.8 percent in 1980. Inflation hit double digits in 1974 and 1975, slipped back and then roared up, cresting at more than 13 percent in 1979 and 14 percent in 1980. It was a time, too, when the nightly news rattled the American psyche.
The first half of the decade saw the revolution-promoting Weathermen, Watergate, the bitter, bloody end to the Vietnam War and the Arab oil embargo. The second half of the '70s brought the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Iranian Revolution.

There are similarities to be sure. High gas prices (relatively) and a conflict in a far off land that is growing unpopular each week. Housing prices and personal incomes struggling to keep up with the cost of living and so on.
But the only differences that I do see is technological. Yet when you look at it we really haven't advanced quite as far as we "could" have, been too busy making a living and killing people.
How many of you see the same things (for those old enough to remember ... ) as stated in the article? Does it seem that way to you too?

 

[Kacey]

The primary difference I recall is that in the 70s it was a gas shortage that jacked up prices - I've seen none of the long lines at gas stations that I remember as a kid.

 

[tshadowchaser]

There are many, many similarities between those days and what is going on today.

I think there are also large differences:
Terrorist attacks happening here in the USA
Shootings and large scale gang violence in our schools
We have a new “ enemy” that many fear will cause global war
For the first time in our history we had 2 candidates for president that where a minority ( or at least non white men)
Our children as less educated
The majority of the country seems to be overweight or obese
And many more

 

[terryl965]

There are many, many similarities between those days and what is going on today.

I think there are also large differences:
Terrorist attacks happening here in the USA
Shootings and large scale gang violence in our schools
We have a new “ enemy” that many fear will cause global war
For the first time in our history we had 2 candidates for president that where a minority ( or at least non white men)
Our children as less educated
The majority of the country seems to be overweight or obese
And many more

I have to agree with you on this