The confessions of C. Jackson Grayson

Question: “What do you think is causing this inflation?” Answer: “I don’t know.”

By thus establishing his credentials as the right man for the wrong job, Dean Grayson became head of the Price Commission. Soon he announced his discovery, in the Reader’s Digest, that inflation was caused by careless shopping, greed, laziness—anything but monetary policy. And Grayson developed an annoying tactic, which he still retains, of warning the private sector (which can’t do anything about inflation) of the threat of socialism if people didn’t discipline themselves and show the proper restraint in their wage and price decisions.

About the Author

Alan Reynolds

Alan Reynolds, National Review’s economics editor from 1972 to 1976, is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the author of Income and Wealth.

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Question: “What do you think is causing this inflation?” Answer: “I don’t know.”

By thus establishing his credentials as the right man for the wrong job, Dean Grayson became head of the Price Commission. Soon he announced his discovery, in the Reader’s Digest, that inflation was caused by careless shopping, greed, laziness—anything but monetary policy. And Grayson developed an annoying tactic, which he still retains, of warning the private sector (which can’t do anything about inflation) of the threat of socialism if people didn’t discipline themselves and show the proper restraint in their wage and price decisions.