Oil pump jacks, Teapot Dome, 1973.
Today In Wyoming's History: March 6: 1973 President Richard Nixon imposed price controls on oil and gas.
This from our companion blog, although It's not entirely accurate the way it's stated. Price controls had actually come in during 1971 in order to combat inflation. On this day in 1973 the Cost of Living Council issued Special Rule No. 1, which imposed price controls after the "controls" had become voluntary.
Nixon era price controls would prove to be a spectacular failure, and this one in particular failed to grasp that petroleum supplies now included large scale importation, something well beyond American control. This would prove to be the case in the upcoming fall, when OPEC would put in place an embargo on the export of oil to the United States, something that would have an enormous impact on the state's economy.
The fact that efforts at price controls went back to 1971 is telling. It's common to assume now that rampant inflation in the early 70s began when the price of oil skyrocketed following the Yom Kippur War, but in fact they were already rising at the start of the decade. In no small measure, this was due to the Johnson Administration's "guns and butter" economic strategy of the 60s, in which the United States attempted to pay for the Cold War military, the Vietnam War, and a massive increase in social spending without disrupting the economy. Cynics would note that inflation, which started in the 60s, helped reduce the actual cost to the government of such programs, which it did, but whether somewhat intentional or not, the economy simply could not endure it.
1973 Spring Training commenced with games played in the majors with designated hitters, in the American League, played for the first time.
Famous author Pearl S. Buck died at age 80. Her work is most famously associated with China, where she had lived for many years.
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