Staying Alive! The 1970s, Stagflation and the Decline of the US Working Class

From the 1940s through the 1960s, America had never known such a prolonged period of prosperity and economic world

dominance. And then came the 1970s. High inflation and high unemployment combined in ways economists thought were impossible. What followed was ten years of profound economic uncertainty tied with social unrest, political instability and cultural upheaval. No group was more impacted than the American working class who saw their wages and bargaining power decline even as their futures looked increasingly bleak. In a time where many are predicting a return to “stagflation”, it is useful to consider what it all meant back at this critical time.