From Washington Straight: Dutch in the Clutch

When the Capitol dome in Washington starts looking like the cover of a pressure cooker, you know that August’s fabled heat has arrived. Heat has also arrived for Ronald Wilson Reagan—after 18 months in office, he is in his own political pressure cooker. Three burners are keeping Dutch’s pot hot: the economy, midterm elections, and crises abroad.

From January 20, 1981 the U.S. economy has migrated thus: GNP up 0.2 per cent, industrial production down 6.3 per cent, consumer price index up 11.1 per cent, per-capita income up 0.8 per cent, corporate profits down 27.6 per cent, interest rates down 17.5 per cent, retail sales up 1.0 per cent, joblessness up 26.7 per cent.

JM

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John McLaughlin

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When the Capitol dome in Washington starts looking like the cover of a pressure cooker, you know that August’s fabled heat has arrived. Heat has also arrived for Ronald Wilson Reagan—after 18 months in office, he is in his own political pressure cooker. Three burners are keeping Dutch’s pot hot: the economy, midterm elections, and crises abroad.

From January 20, 1981 the U.S. economy has migrated thus: GNP up 0.2 per cent, industrial production down 6.3 per cent, consumer price index up 11.1 per cent, per-capita income up 0.8 per cent, corporate profits down 27.6 per cent, interest rates down 17.5 per cent, retail sales up 1.0 per cent, joblessness up 26.7 per cent.