RE-AIR: Robert Samuelson on Paul Volcker and the Great Inflation

Robert Samuelson is an economics columnist for the Washington Post and spent several decades working at Newsweek, where he wrote on various economic topics. Robert is the author of several books, including *The Good Life and Its Discontents: The American Dream in the Age of Entitlement* and *The Great Inflation and Its Aftermath: The Past and Future of American Affluence*. He joins the show today to talk about the latter and its implications for today. David and Robert go in-depth about the Great Inflation, as they discuss the disagreement within macroeconomics during the 60s and 70s, the history and significance of the period, and how Ronald Reagan and Paul Volcker sought to end the inflation.   Tributes to Paul Volcker:   *Remembering Paul Volcker, The Man Who Tamed Inflation* by Scott Sumner https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/473963-remembering-paul-volcker-the-man-who-tamed-inflation   *Paul Volcker’s Legacy* by Scott Sumner https://www.econlib.org/paul-volckers-legacy/   *How Paul Volcker Beat Inflation and Saved an Independent Fed* by Roger Lowenstein https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/how-paul-volcker-beat-inflation-and-saved-an-independent-fed/2019/12/10/7e58d7ae-1b64-11ea-87f7-f2e91143c60d_story.html   *Paul Volcker Was Inflation’s Worst Enemy* by John Taylor https://www.wsj.com/articles/paul-volcker-was-inflations-worst-enemy-11575937617   *Paul A. Volcker, Fed Chairman Who Waged War on Inflation, Is Dead at 92* by Binyamin Appelbaum and Robert D. Hershey Jr. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/business/paul-a-volcker-dead.html   Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/12112019/robert-samuelson-paul-volcker-and-great-inflation   Robert’s Washington Post profile & bio: https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/robert-j-samuelson/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6e300b47761d   Related Links:   *The Great Inflation and Its Aftermath: The Past and Future of American Affluence* by Robert J. Samuelson https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/160295/the-great-inflation-and-its-aftermath-by-robert-j-samuelson/9780812980042/   *The Good Life and Its Discontents: The American Dream in the Age of Entitlement* by Robert J. Samuelson https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/160294/the-good-life-and-its-discontents-by-robert-samuelson/9780679781523/   David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth