by James Hickman
Schiff Sovereign
I imagine my parents must have been extremely apprehensive about bringing a child into the world in the late 1970s.
The entire decade was an economic sh*tshow. Inflation soared in the 1970s. The US economy shrank. Stagflation reigned. Unemployment surged to levels not seen since the Great Depression.
And then there were the nasty social effects and geopolitical events– rising crime, constant protests, political turmoil (including the resignation of the President of the United States), the Arab oil embargo, and the humiliating helicopter evacuation of Saigon.
The year I was born saw yet another energy crisis, skyrocketing oil prices, inflation reaching 13%… not to mention the 53 Americans who were taken hostage in Iran.