1980's Economic Failure

Regardless of the current economic strength, the United States government has failed its citizens repeatedly, which has led to some major economic downfalls in the past. Some of these failures include The Great Depression, the 1981 Recession, and the Great Recession of 2007-2009. The Great Depression was a worldwide economic catastrophe that caused unemployment rates to surge and pushed economic production rates to fail. The early 1980s recession was marked by astronomical interest rates, accompanied by high unemployment and the rising cost of living. The sharp decline in the economy that was considered the most significant failure since the Great Depression came to be known as the Great Recession, also called the Recession of 2007-2009. The

Prior to the 2007-2009 recession, the 1981-82 recession was the worst economic downturn in the United States since the Great Depression. Rising inflation of the U.S. dollar of the 1970s resulted in the tightened monetary policy from the Federal Reserve, while regime change in Iran led to rising oil prices. By the early 1980s, the United States found itself with falling inflation from before, but still rising unemployment. Unemployment grew from 7.4 percent at the start of the recession to nearly 10 percent a year later. The unemployment rate reached nearly 11 percent late in 1982. This was the apex of the unemployment rate of the post-World War II era.

The commitment of Paul Volcker, an American economist, and his successors to aggressively targeting price stability helped ensure that the double-digit inflation of the 1980s would not happen again. By the end of 1982, inflation fell from 11 to 5 percent. Unemployment also declined from 11 to 8%. A gradual loosening of monetary policy as well as the tax cuts and defense spending increases promoted a sustained yet uneven