The Economic And Political Problems Of The 60s And 70

The economic and political problems of the 60’s and 70’s have left a huge influence on the ideas and actions of politicians today. From stagflation to the Vietnam War many politicians use these past issues to justify their policies of today. One of the most influential economists who emerged in the sixties was Milton Friedman, who fought against the establishment’s Keynesian view and many of the policies of FDR. He won a Nobel Prize in 1976 for his work in monetary policy with specific beliefs in controlling the federal debt, keeping inflation low, and ideals of a lassiez-faire market. His ideals influenced some of Regan’s policies of deregulation and tax cuts and drives most of the economic policies of the modern Republican Party. One of†¦show more content†¦Rather he said people based their expenditures on their expected income in the next years or where they expect to be. This was a huge theory that challenged much of the academic establishment at the time and began to give a light to many conservatives who felt like the policies of FDR’s new deal was strangling. In 1962 Friedman wrote arguably his most notable book â€Å"Capitlism and Freedom† which he argued for many things including freely floating exchange rates, the abolition of licensing doctors, and negative tax rates instead of welfare programs. Friedman argued for a lower tax rates and a flat tax past a certain income level to keep American efficiency at up but, unlike a most conservatives, also argued for giving money back to people below a certain income level. He felt like this was a much simpler approach to the problem and felt like welfare programs were all too complex and inefficient. His book famously also argued that inflation rate being higher would also lead to higher unemployment rate and that national debt was tied to the inflation rate. In 1970’s in a giant rise in stagflation due to a poor economy and opec raising its prices, Fr iedman looked like a genius and landed himself a spot on the Nixon advisory team. Although there were still economists who doubted Friedman’s theories as in Canada their national debt