Krugman
argues the stagflation of the 70's was actually not that bad for the middle-class. The real pain was afflicted on the rich. Not that pain is the right word -- just that the rich did not advance their incomes as much as they were used to. Since the 1970's, however, the rich have been doing fabulously well while the middle class is the segment of society that has not seen their incomes rise as quickly. So when the right instills fear in the electorate about a return to the economics of the 1970's -- there really isn't too much to fear.