Slag--


1) I'm not fighting Barry's battles for him. He can and does do that nicely, thank you. However, if you are careless, have the decency to not criticize somebody else for the same failing.

You are careless.


2)   Very interesting to know your chosen conspiracy theory. It seems every crackpot on Mudcat has at least one--and you've fallen right into place. Perhaps you can enlighten us as to why there was no oil shortage in the 70's.

3) The economic history of the 70's in the US is actually quite interesting, I find.

Here's a thesis--it may be considered "thinking outside the box"--no doubt one of your favorite cliches. Since it's not a conspiracy theory, you may not be able to follow it. If so, my condolences.

A good argument can be made , in referring to economic developments, that the greatest power of the US president is to appoint the chairman of the Fed.

In the 70's, this is what happened.

Nixon appointed Burns, who believed in easy money. Since Nixon was trying to have guns and butter (hope that's not too technical for you), and the oil crisis--which was real, by the way--was in full swing, interest rates and inflation soared. In 1979 Carter replaced William Miller, his first choice to head the Fed, with Paul Volcker, who believed in tightening the money supply to tame inflation. This in turn worsened unemployment--so in 1979-80, Carter had the worst of all worlds--since the oil crisis was still on. But Volcker's medicine was the right one for inflation--and if Carter had been re-elected, he would have reaped the benefits. Instead Reagan did--through no merit of his own. In fact inflation peaked in 1981 at 13.5%. And Carter was vilified (look it up) by giant thinkers like your good self--who, unsurprisingly, don't seem to grasp the power of the Fed, nor the lag time in policy changes.

Also, re: foreign policy--if you don't think the Camp David accords, brokered by Carter--which have resulted in a lasting peace between Egypt and Israel, were worthwhile, you need to adjust your priorities. Perhaps you'd prefer continued war between these 2. If so, you are in a minority. Thinking people all disagreee with you.

One more thing: as I recall, you claim to be a conservative--that is, one who believes in letting market forces work. Carter deregulated the airline industry--and oil and gas produced in the US. This should be fine with you, right. Or are you just a conservative when it doesn't hurt you?

Hoping you can write a coherent sentence this time, I eagerly await your reply.