Pay Board and Price Commission
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1970 |
| Preceding agencies |
|
| Dissolved | 1974 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Parent agency | Executive Office of the President |
The Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 (Title II of Pub.L. 91–379, 84 Stat. 799, enacted August 15, 1970, formerly codified at 12 U.S.C. § 1904) was a United States law that authorized the President to stabilize prices, rents, wages, salaries, interest rates, dividends and similar transfers. It established standards to serve as a guide for determining levels of wages, prices, etc., which would allow for adjustments, exceptions and variations to prevent inequities, taking into account changes in productivity, cost of living and other pertinent factors.
Seeking reelection in the 1972 presidential race, President Richard Nixon had to tackle complex economic issues. The radical and rapid changes of the late 1960s such as the Vietnam War and the 1970s Energy Crisis, combined with workforce shortages and the rise in Healthcare cost caused the country to face a recession. President Nixon "inherited a mess". President Lyndon B. Johnson was said to have not accepted the "advice of his economists". There was a dilemma; inflation was high and unemployment was low. In the midst of this recession President Nixon was faced with two options. He could either let the economy stay the way it was, meaning allow the inflation and allow Americans to keep their jobs, or he could tackle the inflation by cutting jobs to balance out the economy. Nixon chose the latter. President Nixon had kept the American worker in mind with this decision to tackle the inflation and cut jobs. Nixon proposed that this was a temporary solution, but promised that more was to come in terms of change, hope and "manpower".
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