Great Inflation and Its Aftermath: The Past and Future of American Affluence Book

I'm a little torn on this book. As some reviewers have pointed out, it's already out of date: like other economist, the author fails to predict the devastating economic severity of the subprime debacle in his mono focus on the perils of inflation. But for those of us born after 1965, The Great Inflation and Its Aftermath presents the history of the inflationary '70s in a clear, intelligible format that's easy to digest (not so of many econ books).

Robert J. Samuelson weaves a good tale as he traces the rise and fall of double-digit inflation and the brutal recessions that followed. He argues that this massive spike in inflation was due not to external forces (war in Vietnam, oil prices) but because of a series of domestic policy blunders made by Republicans and Democrats alike. Finally reigned in by Red chairman Paul Volcker and President Reagan, this inflationary spiral triggered massive economic and social changes.

My beef is that he's a little too quick to defend the fallout from what Yale political scientist Jacok Hacker calls the "great risk shift": corporations shifting risk to individuals rather than the post WWII (implicit) promise of a steady paycheck and a pension. Samuelson rails against "entitlement" and, while he seems to regret the personal instability caused by this shift, he deems it a necessary evil and cautions that the former system wasn't all roses, either.

Samuelson contends that we cannot understand the pressures facing today's world without understanding the Great Inflation and it's aftermath. I would agree. It's an enlightening book for those of us young enough not to remember the crippling effects of rapid inflation - and for those interested in the future of American affluence.