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Experts may invoke the specter of stagflation, but don’t look for a return of the economic conditions of the 1970s. We have too far to fallAre the 1970s returning to haunt us this Halloween? Increases in the consumer price index indicate rising inflation, and job growth has not matched expectations. As a result people on the Street have begun to talk about the return of stagflation – rising unemployment and prices – a phenomenon associated with the 1970s.There appear to be some similarities between now and then. Jimmy Carter, who lived in the White House from 1977 to 1981, presided over a weak economy that turned him into a one-term president who faced a challenge from Edward Kennedy and the liberal wing of his party for the 1980 nomination. Joseph Biden worries that a deteriorating economy might make it impossible for him to pass his legislative agenda and win a second term.Edward Berkowitz writes on American social welfare policy, recent American history, and American cultural history Continue reading...