Carter, James (Administration)

Domestic Policy

Carter's first act as president was to extend full pardon in January 1977 to the resisters of the Vietnam War, draft dodgers, military deserters, and all others who violated the Selective Service Act from 1964 until 1973, expanding the partial pardon Ford granted in 1974. Carter's pardon generated renewed controversy among the general public, who had been deeply divided on the issue.

The opponents in all branches of government were acutely frustrated with this decision because there was no constitutional mechanism to challenge the presi-dent's apparent unilateral decision. The pardon significantly contributed to the further alienation of the [Page 128]executive branch of the federal government. It also demonstrated that Carter had a dislike for the backroom dealing that tends to be pervasive in Washington, D.C. A pattern of mutual distrust and contempt between the new president and Congress was strengthened when the consumer-protection bill and the labor reform package were shot down, to which Carter responded by vetoing a public works package in 1978. Carter never managed to bridge the chasm that continued to grow throughout the presidency and prevented him from establishing good working relations with Congress. Carter's only successes with Congress were when he backed existing Democratic programs like raising the minimum wage; deregulating the airline, railroad, and trucking industries to lower transportation costs; and establishing a fund to clean up toxic waste sites.

Jimmy Carter is much more highly regarded today than when he lost his reelection bid in 1980 against Ronald Reagan.

The Gerald Ford administration passed on a deeply tormented economy that has been ravaged by high inflation, unemployment, and a federal fiscal deficit. One of Carter's election pledges was to stabilize the economy and to end the period of stagflation (galloping inflation and a recession), but despite frequently changing the policy course, he was unable to inspire public confidence and fulfill his promises. Notwithstanding several anti-inflationary measures that were put in place, the annual rate of inflation rose from 5.8 percent in 1976 to 13.5 percent in 1980, the federal budget deficit for 1980 grew to a staggering $59 billion, while the unemployment rate remained around seven percent, amounting to about eight million people out of work by the end of Carter's term in the White House.

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