I was a mere child in the 1970's, but as a student of history I have learned about the difficulties for the public and the economy during that decade. Long gas lines, extremely high inflation, high unemployment were just the most visible problems. During the Ford Administration, buttons were passed out that said WIN - whip inflation now.
That was in 1974, trying to spur the public to cut demand. That did not work, and the Fed under Paul Volcker took drastic steps when he took over the reins. He went on a campaign to raise interest rates as far as he could to stifle inflation, and that turned out to be the right move but rates were hiked up to 20%, double digits for an extended period of time. Stunning move, but since then (1980-1982) inflation has been rather tame - until now.
