changes in economic in the U.S. from the 60s untill now

Running Head : Economic changes in U .S from 60s until now

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Introduction

The Economy of the United States has undergone substantial changes and transformation over the years due to many factors , U .S economy qualifies as the largest national economy in the world enriched with technological developments , abundant minerals and rich soils . This seeks to explore the historical changes that have taken place in U .S economy as from the 60s until now

The early 1960 was characterized by ambitious economic plans

headed by President John F . Kennedy . These plans were aimed at increasing participation in the national economy to help in the realization of economic growth . Military spending increased as American 's presence in Vietnam grew (Friedman Schwartz 683 . The following period consequently saw the increase in government spending and initiatives to reduce taxes levied . Additional expenditure was incurred in providing medical help for the elderly , providing support to inner cities as well as increase in allocation of funds for education which were in the form of grants to schools and colleges and direct support to students Efforts were made during this time to step up space exploration (American Economic Association 173 . This meant that the government channeled a lot of resources and funding towards realization of this American dream . During this period , more Americans were participating in the Vietnam War which meant additional federal funding . The funding of American activities in other countries coupled with increased commitment to fight poverty among the Americans applied a lot of financial strain on the economy . Government 's failure to raise HYPERLINK "http /economics .about .com /od /taxesspendingpolitics " taxes to pay for these efforts led to accelerating inflation (Friedman Schwartz 683 . Hence there was increase in inflation by the end of 1960s as the government was not able to raise the funds to finance these activities through taxation

1970s was a period of economic misfortunes for United States as the nation was faced with many challenges which threatened to erode economic gains that had been made in the previous periods . The inflation experienced at the end of 1960s grew worse during this period especially due to stagnation which happened with business activities . Between 1973 and 1974 , Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC imposed an oil embargo for a period of one year accelerating the energy prices upward (Sewell , Tucker Castells 175 . There were also shortages of this vital product , a fact which also contributed to stagnation in business . This embargo had far reaching effects which continued to be experienced even after it was lifted by OPEC . The inflation rate continued accelerating causing many people to loose their jobs and sagging of the stock market . The events led to federal government overspending its budget hence increased budget deficits were witnessed . The troubled state of the economy made it vulnerable to intense competition from the outside world . The economy continued to suffer due to consequences of Vietnam War (Campbell , Hollingsworth Lindberg 3 . The government was not able to...