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(Acknowledging coffee as a food group)

In 1974 the argument was whether or not to call it a Recession or a Depression, but without any doubt we had one.

The economic woes of the 1970s extended well into the 1980's, with fits and starts and forays into inflation and deflation and stagflation - a veritable plethora of 'flations confronting the country for the better part of a decade. President Ford initiated the somewhat feeble Whip Inflation Now as gas prices went spiraling up, home values came cascading down and unemployment skyrocketed. Sound familiar?

There was a lot of analysis to be had - one was a panel discussion broadcast by NBC Radio in 1974 and later edited into a one hour documentary called "The Wayward Economy" as part of their Second Sunday series. The panel consisted of various economic "experts" (with heavy emphasis on the Chicago School of Economics) at the time; Pierre Renfret, Peter G. Peterson, Ralph Nader (during his relevancy period), Yale Brozen and Tilford Gaines.

This documentary was aired on September 17, 1974.

On CNBC's Squawk Box Tuesday, energy analyst Robert Hirsch warned that $4.00 per gallon gasoline will be viewed in the not-so-distant future as "the good old days" because $12 and $15 per gallon is not far away.

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Business and Media:

“[T]he prices that we’re paying at the pump today are, I think, going to be ‘the good old days,’ because others who watch this very closely forecast that we’re going to be hitting $12 and $15 per gallon,” Hirsch said. “And then, after that, when oil – world oil production goes into decline, we’re going to talk about rationing. In other words, not only are we going to be paying high prices and have considerable economic problems, but in addition to that, we’re not going to be able to get the fuel when we want it.”

I included the analyst that spoke before Hirsch to illustrate an important point. His "solution" to the astronomical rise in energy costs is, of course, to "drill more" -- never mind that drilling in ANWR would reduce oil imports by a whopping 4% and could irreparably damage the environment and surrounding wildlife. He says this is necessary "while we wait" for alternative energy sources. The only thing we're waiting for is a President with a long-term, big picture solution to a problem that impacts everyones lives in nearly every way on a daily basis.