Austerity czar of the ’80s dies

Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman whose hard-nosed monetary policy conquered out-of-control inflation, has died. He was 92.

How is Volcker remembered? Many Americans, especially business owners, hated the Fed’s ratcheting up of interest rates in the early 1980s, which triggered a recession. But Volcker did not flinch. The breakneck pace at which consumer prices rose—13 percent annually in 1979 and 1980—slowed down after a few years, and the economy rebounded. Now he’s remembered as courageous and independent; President Barack Obama even asked for his advice in coping with the Great Recession of 2008. “Paul was as stubborn as he was tall, and although some of his policies as Fed chairman were politically costly, they were the right thing to do,” said former President Jimmy Carter, who appointed the 6-foot-7-inch Volcker.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Alex Tokarev’s column about how Volcker’s leadership saved the U.S. economy.