wails Think you meant 'fails.' Otherwise a perfect summary of what I've been saying for years.

The political end [highly compressed] goes like this. LBJ decides he can win the Vietnam War with a massive push. The big punch turns into a quagmire. In order to pay for the War, LBJ prints money without raising taxes, leading to inflation. Richard Nixon ran for President vowing to end both inflation and the Vietnam War. Instead he kept LBJ's failed policies and doubled down. When the Arab Oil Boycott hit, it was a disaster for the US.

You know all those fabulous loft apartments you see in Manhattan's Soho district? They were originally small factories; all those businesses had to flee the city to the South or foreign shores because the cost of energy had tripled.

When Reagan came in and cut taxes for the rich the middle class was doomed.