MuddyBoots wrote:GrahamPlatt wrote:
And had we not joined?
In both cases, the 1970s and now, the high rates of general inflation were caused by hikes in the oil (and gas this time too). And what causes shocks in fossil fuel prices? Sometimes it's cartels like OPEC cornering the market, sometimes it's government intervention like the Russian sanctions. In both cases it's not the free market forces, more like a market failure brought on by government interference in the markets.
It is always convenient and politically expedient to blame the OPEC cartel for the stagflation of the 1970s, but it ultimately could not have happened as it did without loose monetary policies supporting the guns and butter post-war economy before it.
In nearly all cases of inflation the money supply changes far more than the quantity of goods and services being produced.. therefore the largest blame should be laid at the door of those tasked with controlling the supply of money and credit.