. - 44 Scenes: E~.onomics The economic events of the past year proved to be just as topsyturvey and unsettling as the political events. Covrtny Wtde World Photos r~-':;.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiii;;:;:==::::;=~::3iiJ 163/4 percent. The Chrysler Corporation , the naEveryone's concern was inflation , which steadily rose unti l it went into double digit figures. The nation grew increasingly frustrated. The policies of President Jimmy Carter to combat inflation either did little good or were held up in Congress. A windfall profits tax as proposed by Carter was rejected in spite of the fact that oil profits rose tremendously during the year. Exxon reported a 5S percent growth in profits during 1979. Gulf showed a 68 percent profit increase, Mobil 78 percent and Texaco an astounding 106 percent. Although gasoline usage was off 4.9 percent from 1978, prices continued to rise. From the end of 1979 through January 1980 prices rose 7.4 percent putting the national average for a gallon of gasoline at $1.13. When the President had the chance to appoint a new Federal Reserve Board chairman, he chose Paul A. Voleker to help him in his faltering fight against inflation. Volcker's policies on tightening the money sup· ply were so different from other re· cent policies that his tactics came to be called "Volckernomics. " tion 's third largest auto manufac· turer, suffered under the weight of rising production and labor costs and a slow year in sales. The company found itself teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. A controversial bill authorizing a government loan to the company passed through Congress and pulled Chrysler out of trouble, at least temporarily. The most phenominal economic events of the year were the sky· rocketing prices of gold and silver. Increasing at a steady rate for weeks, prices finally topped out in early February 1980. After hitting $875 an ounce, gold suddenly dropped $145 in one week. Silver peaked at $50 an ounce than also dropped off by $10. Inflation hit Harding also, forcing tuition to rise for 1979. It was expected to rise again for the fall of 1980 to over $70 a semester. A controversy over prices in Heritage Cafeteria came early in the year. Eventually the Administration partially rolled back the price increases and implemented a long-time student-desired, two meal ticket system. Following Volcker's leads, in part, banks in New York City raised the prime interest rate to over 15 percent. After dropping back some toward the end of 1979, the prime interest rate hit an all·time high in February at Everyone's concern was inflation, which steadily rose until it went into double digit figures. In October of 1979 investors received some $55 million in paper losses as the Dow Jones average on the New York stock exchange took a five day-S8.62 plunge. It was the second largest one-week decline in Big Board history. tlil Campus finances reflect big picture CARS encircle a gasoline stati0l1 as motorists wait to fill their tanks. Similar lines were seen elsewhere in the nation during the summer because of the fuel shortage. Money. Wise men say.it cannot buy happiness; pragmatists contend that it at least makes misery easier to bear . One thing is certain: one cannot get an educa· tion without it. Examining the past decade, Dr. Don P. OiEfine, director for the Center for Private Enterprise Education , said , "For comparison's sake, you could use a figure of 125 percent inflation nationally for the period from 1967-1980." During the past year alone, the United States suffered 13 percent inflation coupled with 6 percent unemployment. The nation was clearly undergoing a massive economic upheaval. Americans earned more, but the things they bought cost more. Many times "cost of living" increases did not keep pace with the inflation rate. Often, one was fortunate to maintain his buying power even after getting a raise. Traveling graphically illustrated the unhappy economic trends for students who drove automobiles to college last fall. A local oil distributor said that a gallon of unleaded gasoline retailed for 72 cents in March of 1979. In August, the price per gallon had long since topped $1. One year later, in March of 1980, a gallon of fuel sold for an average of $1.13. The inevitable consequence? More cars were left parked, and students made fewer trips home. Finances
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