News Analysis In 1970 inflation wasn’t excessive but it was becoming a problem. It worried many Americans, including those facing re-election in 1972. The annual inflation rate in the United States was only 5.7 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the prime interest rate had climbed to 8 percent, the Federal Reserve Board reported. Worse was about to happen. Fiscal and monetary policies hurt the country, including low interest rates later raised along with big deficits to pay for welfare programs and the Vietnam War, according to several economists. The nation was about to be upended as was almost every welfare state society around the globe. Governments such as the Carter and Ford presidencies in the United States and the Callaghan ministry in the United Kingdom were toppled as were central bankers. They lost power partly because inflation was hurting millions. How did it happen? How …