by Steve Forbes
The global economy is lurching toward the
cliff. Twice before over the last 75 years Washington took the necessary
action, and after November, with a new President and Congress, there will be
the opportunity--and imperative--to do so again.
The 1970s
were a decade of economic turmoil and stagnation. The 1930s were far worse. And
now the world is headed to the brink again.
After the
Great Depression and the Second World War the U.S. helped create and nurture the
institutions that enabled war-torn Europe and Japan to make rapid recoveries.
The gold-based Bretton Woods monetary system provided the currency stability
necessary for the resumption of international trade. The General Agreement on
Tariffs & Trade (and then its successor, the World Trade Organization)
systematically reduced trade barriers. At home we ended wartime controls and
rationing, cut taxes and slashed government spending. Almost seamlessly,
millions of veterans came home to productive civilian employment. For the next
25 years Japan and Germany repeatedly reduced their tax burdens and became
economic global giants.
The
destruction of Bretton Woods in the early 1970s led to a horrific,
inflation-wracked decade. The U.S. experienced a stagnant economy and rising
inflation and was seen as a malaise-ridden nation in irreversible decline.