Word: economists
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...reply would have seemed a fearful sin against the spirit of liberal economic doctrine-to say nothing of the spirit in which Jimmy Carter campaigned for the White House. But in the past twelve months, economic and political thought has gone through a wrenching change. In the words of Economist Otto Eckstein, a member of TIME'S Board of Economists: "1978 was the year in which our nose was rubbed in the new reality." Part of the new reality is that inflation is Public Enemy No. 1, that it is persistent and pervasive, and that it has built...
There is a buy-now attitude among Americans, who figure that prices are not going to go down and if they see something they like, they had better buy it now. Economist Alan Greenspan estimates that an unprecedented 25% of the average household's after-tax income now goes to meeting interest and principal payments each month, and that "there are a significant number of households that allocate 40% or more of their income to debt service...
...economic trends. Often the Commerce Department releases preliminary figures that give false signals and then, like Stalin rewriting history, subjects the numbers to revision after revision. Statistics can be made to dance to almost any tune, depending on how they are presented, particularly at year's end. Warns Economist Walter Heller: " Tis the season to be wary...
...slowed, the whole Social Security system?as well as the budget?will be in deep trouble. Says Alice Rivlin, director of the Congressional Budget Office: "If you're really concerned about the growth in Government, then you have to go after the uncontrollables." Adds Rudolph Penner, a former economist at OMB under Gerald Ford: "Cutting $30 million here or $100 million there is the approach one is forced to take unless you tackle the entitlement programs...
Kahn never lets an opportunity for a quip pass him by. Commenting on the success of his profession, he gibes: "The Pope is telling economist jokes." Asked why he accepted the thankless job of trying to throttle inflation, he replies: "I'm 61 years old. What am I saving it for?" He is brutally frank about his chances for success. Says he: "My prediction [on the growth of the economy] isn't worth the air it rides...