Ford's Economic Record Belies His Reputation; Better Known for a Failed Anti-Inflation Gimmick, His Policies Helped Get U.S. Back on Track
The economic policies of Gerald R. Ford are usually remembered as a joke. Soon after he took over as president, in August 1974, he tried to tame runaway price increases by urging Americans to wear round red lapel pins emblazoned with the initials WIN, for "whip inflation now."</br></br>But Ford didn't give up the fight against what was then called stagflation: a debilitating mix of rapid inflation, high unemployment and slow economic growth. In fact, before his 30-month administration ended, he discarded his original plans and cobbled together an unconventional set of programs that succeeded, at least for a while, in slowing the country's financial slide.</br></br>Among his economic policies, "what President Ford is most remembered for is the inflation campaign, which was kind of silly," said Alice M. Rivlin, a former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board and a director of The Washington Post Co. "But in the end, I think, he did quite well."</br></br>The U.S. economy was in sad shape when Ford replaced the disgraced Richard M. Nixon to become the nation's 38th president. Then it got worse. The economy fell into the steepest recession since World War II, coupled with an upward price spiral that was faster than at any time in modern memory.</br></br>Unemployment approached 9 percent, inflation ran at a 12 percent annual rate, and the gross domestic product was flat or declining. Energy prices, in particular, soared due to an oil shortage.