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Jimmy Carter inherited a deeply troubled economy. The "great inflation" that is associated with his presidency in fact began in the latter part of the Johnson years, and the oil crisis Carter faced was the second oil price shock of the decade. In addition, a decline in worker productivity and a rise in competition from Germany and Japan compounded the nation's economic problems.
These economic pressures created a crisis of political identity for the Democratic Party, moving it toward the political center. Full employment, the traditional priority of Democratic policy, requires an activist government willing to increase public spending and cut taxes. The anti-inflation policy that was forced on Carter by the economic realities of the day included controlling public spending, limiting the expansion of the welfare state, and postponing popular tax cuts. Moreover, according to Biven, Carter argued that the ambitious policies of the Great Society were no longer possible in an age of limits and that the Democratic Party must by economic necessity become more centrist. Although he faced severe criticism during his term, says Biven, Carter accurately perceived the changed fiscal landscape and the need for a shift in Democratic policy.
Based on an exhaustive examination of original documents and on interviews with many of Carter's principal advisors, Jimmy Carter's Economy is a case study of the challenges facing presidential economic policy makers. Written for historians and political scientists as well as economists, the book is also accessible to general readers with an interest in the transformation of the American political and economic landscape.
(Hard cover only) 346 pages (Dimensions 9 1/2, 6 1/2, 1 inches)