• Why No One Can Figure Out the Economy
    Awake!—1975 | January 22

    • Inflation, recession, unemployment​—all at one time—​are staggering enough to consider. But the current plethora of problems has grown to nightmarish proportions. How? By the introduction of new, unexpected elements. Oil prices have quadrupled and other natural resources are becoming harder to obtain and subsequently more expensive. These radical adjustments​—unheard of only a few months ago—​have affected virtually every industry in the Western world with staggering and sometimes devastating results.

      Uncooperative weather has meant low crop yields; burgeoning populations grab for the limited supplies. Thus even once-inexpensive staples like beans and sugar have multiplied several times in cost. Almost daily a larger percentage of the average person’s income is used to buy life’s necessities.