Jimmy Carter

=== Domestic policy ===
==== U.S. energy crisis ====
Moralism typified much of Carter's action.<ref>Kenneth Earl Morris, ed. ''Jimmy Carter, American Moralist'' ( University of Georgia Press, 1996).</ref> On April 18, 1977, he delivered a televised speech declaring that the current energy crisis was the "moral equivalent of war". He encouraged energy conservation and installed [[Solar power at the White House|solar water heating panels on the White House]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unity.edu/news/solar1004.htm |title=Maine college to auction off former White House solar panels |date=October 28, 2004 |access-date=January 31, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100122051251/http://www.unity.edu/News/solar1004.htm |archive-date=January 22, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Dave |last=Burdick |url=https://huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/27/white-house-solar-panels_n_160575.html |work=HuffPost |title=White House Solar Panels: What Ever Happened To Carter's Solar Thermal Water Heater? (VIDEO) |date=January 27, 2009 |access-date=January 31, 2010 |archive-date=September 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904023005/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/27/white-house-solar-panels_n_160575.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He wore sweaters to offset turning down the heat in the White House.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/10/08/craig-shirley-jimmy-carter-white-house-energy-crisis-solar-panels-ronald-reagan/|title=Days of 'Malaise' and Jimmy Carter's Solar Panels|first1=Craig|last1=Shirley|date=October 8, 2010|access-date=August 30, 2021|work=Fox News|archive-date=November 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141122031809/http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/10/08/craig-shirley-jimmy-carter-white-house-energy-crisis-solar-panels-ronald-reagan/|url-status=live}}</ref> On August 4, 1977, Carter signed the [[Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977]], forming the Department of Energy, the first new cabinet position in eleven years.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Relyea |first1=Harold |title=The executive branch, creation and reorganization |year=2003 |publisher=Nova Publishers |page=29 |last2=Carr |first2=Thomas P. |isbn=978-1-59033-610-6}}</ref>

Carter boasted that the House of Representatives had "adopted almost all" of the energy proposal he had made five months earlier and called the compromise "a turning point in establishing a comprehensive energy program."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-125 |title=The President's News Conference (29 September 1977) |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=August 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816115250/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-125 |url-status=live }}</ref> The following month, on October 13, Carter stated he believed in the Senate's ability to pass the energy reform bill and identified energy as "the most important domestic issue that we will face while I am in office."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-122 |title=The President's News Conference (13 October 2021) |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=November 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105040157/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-122 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On January 12, 1978, during a press conference, Carter said the continued discussions about his energy reform proposal had been "long and divisive and arduous" as well as hindering to national issues that needed to be addressed with the implementation of the law.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-1008 |title=The President's News Conference (12 January 1978) |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212140632/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-1008 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In an April 11, 1978, news conference, Carter said his biggest surprise "in the nature of a disappointment" since becoming president was the difficulty Congress had in passing legislation, citing the energy reform bill in particular: "I never dreamed a year ago in April when I proposed this matter to the Congress that a year later it still would not be resolved."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-1006 |title=The President's News Conference (11 April 1978) |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212140501/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-1006 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Carter energy legislation was approved by Congress after much deliberation and modification on October 15, 1978. The measure deregulated the sale of natural gas, dropped a longstanding pricing disparity between intra- and interstate gas, and created tax credits to encourage energy conservation and the use of non-fossil fuels.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kaufman |first=Burton Ira |title=The Presidency of James Earl Carter, Jr. |date=1993 |publisher=University Press of Kansas |isbn=978-0-7006-0572-9 |location=Lawrence, Kansas |pages=108 |oclc=26359258}}</ref>

On March 1, 1979, Carter submitted a standby gasoline rationing plan per the request of Congress.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/standby-gasoline-rationing-plan-message-the-congress-transmitting-the-plan-0 |title=Standby Gasoline Rationing Plan Message to the Congress Transmitting the Plan. (1 March 1979) |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212140613/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/standby-gasoline-rationing-plan-message-the-congress-transmitting-the-plan-0 |url-status=live }}</ref> On April 5, he delivered an address in which he stressed the urgency of energy conservation and increasing domestic production of energy sources such as coal and solar.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/energy-address-the-nation |title=Energy Address to the Nation. (5 April 1979) |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212140452/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/energy-address-the-nation |url-status=live }}</ref> During an April 30 news conference, he said it was imperative that the House commerce committee approve the standby gasoline rationing plan and called on Congress to pass the several other standby energy conservation plans he had proposed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-980 |title=The President's News Conference (30 April 1979) |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212140512/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-980 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On July 15, 1979, Carter delivered a nationally televised address in which he identified what he believed to be a "[[s:The Crisis of Confidence|crisis of confidence]]" among American people,<ref name="millercenter1979">{{cite web |url=http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3402 |title="Crisis of Confidence" Speech (July 15, 1979) |publisher=Miller Center, University of Virginia |format=text and video |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090721024329/http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3402 |archive-date=July 21, 2009 |date=October 20, 2016}}</ref> under the advisement of pollster [[Pat Caddell]] who believed Americans faced a crisis in confidence from events of the 1960s and 1970s, before his presidency.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/carter-crisis-speech/ |publisher=PBS |series=American Experience |title=Jimmy Carter |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=October 19, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019101602/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/carter-crisis-speech/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some later called this his "[[malaise]] speech",<ref name="millercenter1979" /> memorable for mixed reactions<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eoearth.org/article/Jimmy_Carter%27s__malaise_speech_ |publisher=The Encyclopedia of Earth |title=Jimmy Carter's "malaise speech" |author=Cutler Cleveland |date=January 24, 2007 |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=July 11, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100711161737/http://www.eoearth.org/article/Jimmy_Carter%27s__malaise_speech_ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0611F8395D12728DDDA10994DF405B898BF1D3 |title=Speech Lifts Carter Rating to 37%; Public Agrees on Confidence Crisis; Responsive Chord Struck |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 18, 1979 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |author=Adam Clymer |author-link=Adam Clymer |page=A1 |archive-date=May 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517074931/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0611F8395D12728DDDA10994DF405B898BF1D3 |url-status=live }}</ref> and his use of rhetoric.<ref>{{cite web |title=American Experience |publisher=[[PBS]] |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/carter-crisis-speech/ |access-date=October 22, 2013 |archive-date=October 19, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019101602/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/carter-crisis-speech/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The speech's negative reception centered on a view that he did not emphasize his own efforts to address the energy crisis and seemed too reliant on Americans.<ref>{{cite book |last=Weintraub |first=Walter |title=Political Psychology 7: Profiles of American Presidents as Revealed in Their Public Statements: The Presidential News Conferences of Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan |year=1986 |publisher=International Society of Political Psychology |pages=285–295}}</ref>

==== EPA Love Canal Superfund ====
In 1978, Carter declared a federal emergency in the neighborhood of [[Love Canal]] in the city of [[Niagara Falls, New York]]. More than 800 families were evacuated from the neighborhood, which had been built on top of a [[toxic waste]] landfill. The [[Superfund]] law was created in response to the situation.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v751AwAAQBAJ&q=carter+Love+Canal+in+the+city+of+Niagara+Falls,+New+York.+More+than+800+families+were+evacuated&pg=PT1417|title=Encyclopedia of Business Ethics and Society|first1=Robert|last1=W. Kolb|publisher=SAGE Publications|date=2008|page=1305|isbn=9781452265698|access-date=March 21, 2022|archive-date=April 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407065100/https://books.google.com/books?id=v751AwAAQBAJ&q=carter+Love+Canal+in+the+city+of+Niagara+Falls%2C+New+York.+More+than+800+families+were+evacuated&pg=PT1417|url-status=live}}</ref> Federal disaster money was appropriated to demolish the approximately 500 houses, the 99th Street School, and the 93rd Street School, which had been built on top of the dump; and to remediate the dump and construct a containment area for the hazardous wastes. This was the first time that such a process had been undertaken. Carter acknowledged that several more "Love Canals" existed across the country, and that discovering such hazardous dumpsites was "one of the grimmest discoveries of our modern era".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eUTkicMAXuQC&q=one+of+the+grimmest+discoveries+of+our+modern+era+carter&pg=PR15|title=Risks of Hazardous Wastes|first1=Paul|last1=E. Rosenfeld|first2=Lydia|last2=Feng|first3=William|last3=Andrew|date=2011|publisher=William Andrew|isbn=9781437778434|access-date=March 21, 2022|archive-date=April 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407071456/https://books.google.com/books?id=eUTkicMAXuQC&q=one+of+the+grimmest+discoveries+of+our+modern+era+carter&pg=PR15|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Poor relations with Congress ====
Carter typically refused to conform to Washington's rules.<ref>Zelizer, pp. 53–55</ref> He avoided phone calls from members of Congress and verbally insulted them. He was unwilling to return political favors. His negativity led to frustration in passing legislation.<ref name="pbs">{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/georgia-mafia/ |title=The 'Georgia Mafia' . Jimmy Carter |work=WGBH American Experience |publisher=PBS |access-date=March 13, 2017 |archive-date=February 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215065641/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/georgia-mafia// |url-status=dead }}</ref> During a press conference on February 23, 1977, Carter stated that it was "inevitable" that he would come into conflict with Congress and added that he had found "a growing sense of cooperation" with Congress and met in the past with congressional members of both parties.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-119 |title=The President's News Conference (23 February 1977) |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=August 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815112634/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-119 |url-status=live }}</ref> Carter developed a bitter feeling following an unsuccessful attempt at having Congress enact the scrapping of several water projects,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/27/zelizer.hundred/index.html |work=CNN|title=Commentary: New president's 100 days of pressure – CNN.com |date=October 28, 2008 |access-date=May 22, 2010 |archive-date=December 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091203002100/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/27/zelizer.hundred/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> which he had requested during his first 100 days in office and received opposition from members of his party.<ref name="Biven 2002">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/jimmycartersecon00bive_0 |title=Jimmy Carter's Economy: Policy in an Age of Limits |author=Biven, W. Carl |isbn=978-0-8078-2738-3 |year=2002 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press}} p. 81</ref>

As a rift ensued between the White House and Congress afterward, Carter noted that the liberal wing of the Democratic Party was most ardently against his policies, attributing this to [[Ted Kennedy 1980 presidential campaign|Ted Kennedy's wanting the presidency]].<ref>Carter, Jimmy ''Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis'', p. 8, (2005), Simon & Schuster</ref> Carter, thinking he had support from 74 Congressmen, issued a "hit list" of 19 projects that he claimed were "pork barrel" spending that he claimed would result in a veto on his part if included in any legislation.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/143163782.html?dids=143163782:143163782&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+1%2C+1977&author=By+Walter+Pincus+Washington+Post+Staff+Writer&pub=The+Washington+Post+(1974-Current+file)&edition=&startpage=A1&desc=When+a+Campaign+Vow+Crashes+Into+a+Pork+Barrel |last=Pincus |first=Walter |title=When a Campaign Vow Crashes into a Pork Barrel |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=April 1, 1977 |access-date=July 5, 2008 |archive-date=May 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525152206/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/143163782.html?dids=143163782:143163782&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+1,+1977&author=By+Walter+Pincus+Washington+Post+Staff+Writer&pub=The+Washington+Post+(1974-Current+file)&edition=&startpage=A1&desc=When+a+Campaign+Vow+Crashes+Into+a+Pork+Barrel |url-status=live }}</ref> He found himself at odds with Congressional Democrats once more, with [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|speaker of the House of Representatives]] [[Tip O'Neill]] finding it inappropriate for a president to pursue what had traditionally been the role of Congress. Carter was also weakened by signing a bill that contained many of the "hit list" projects he intended to cancel.<ref name="ucsb2">{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=6799 |publisher=presidency.ucsb.edu |title=Jimmy Carter: Water Resource Projects Message to the Congress |access-date=March 13, 2017 |archive-date=August 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828215048/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=6799 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In an address to a fundraising dinner for the Democratic National Committee on June 23, 1977, Carter said, "I think it's good to point out tonight, too, that we have evolved a good working relationship with the Congress. For eight years we had government by partisanship. Now we have government by partnership."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/democratic-national-committee-dinner-remarks-the-fundraising-dinner-new-york-city |title=Democratic National Committee Dinner Remarks at the Fundraising Dinner in New York City. (23 June 1977) |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=October 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211012010116/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/democratic-national-committee-dinner-remarks-the-fundraising-dinner-new-york-city |url-status=live }}</ref> At a July 28 news conference, assessing the first six months of his presidency, Carter spoke of his improved understanding of Congress: "I have learned to respect the Congress more in an individual basis. I've been favorably impressed at the high degree of concentrated experience and knowledge that individual members of Congress can bring on a specific subject, where they've been the chairman of a subcommittee or committee for many years and have focused their attention on this particular aspect of government life which I will never be able to do."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-104 |title=The President's News Conference (28 July 1977) |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212140513/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-104 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On May 10, 1979, the House voted against giving Carter authority to produce a standby gas rationing plan.<ref>Bourne, p.436</ref> The following day, Carter delivered remarks in the Oval Office describing himself as shocked and embarrassed for the American government by the vote and concluding "the majority of the House Members are unwilling to take the responsibility, the political responsibility for dealing with a potential, serious threat to our Nation." He furthered that a majority of House members were placing higher importance on "local or parochial interests" and challenged the lower chamber of Congress with composing their own rationing plan in the next 90 days.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=32325 |title=Standby Gasoline Rationing Plan Remarks on the House of Representatives Disapproval of the Plan (10 May 1979) |date=May 11, 1979 |publisher=American Presidency Project |first=Jimmy |last=Carter |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=September 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926085905/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=32325 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Carter's remarks were met with criticism by House Republicans, who accused his comments of not befitting the formality a president should have in their public remarks. Others pointed to 106 Democrats voting against his proposal and the bipartisan criticism potentially coming back to haunt him.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/15/archives/carters-clash-with-congress-on-gas-plan-news-analysis-some.html |title=Carter's Clash With Congress on Gas Plan |date=May 15, 1979 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-date=May 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531084739/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/15/archives/carters-clash-with-congress-on-gas-plan-news-analysis-some.html |url-status=live }}</ref> At the start of a news conference on July 25, 1979, Carter called on believers in the future of the U.S. and his proposed energy program to speak with Congress as it bore the responsibility to impose his proposals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=32653 |title=The President's News Conference (25 July 1979) |date=July 25, 1979 |publisher=American Presidency Project |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=September 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926090001/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=32653 |url-status=live }}</ref> Amid the energy proposal opposition, ''The New York Times'' commented that "as the comments flying up and down Pennsylvania Avenue illustrate, there is also a crisis of confidence between Congress and the President, sense of doubt and distrust that threatens to undermine the President's legislative program and become an important issue in next year's campaign."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/08/05/archives/carter-and-the-congress-doubt-and-distrust-prevail.html |title=Carter and the Congress: Doubt and Distrust Prevail |first=Steven V. |last=Roberts |date=August 5, 1979 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-date=August 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817111437/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/08/05/archives/carter-and-the-congress-doubt-and-distrust-prevail.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Economy ====
[[File:Bill Clinton 1978.jpg|thumb|alt=A monochrome image of Carter shaking hands with Bill Clinton|Newly elected [[governor of Arkansas]] and future president [[Bill Clinton]] meets with President Carter in 1978]]
Carter's presidency had a troubled economic history of two roughly equal periods. The first two years were a time of continuing recovery from the severe 1973–75 recession, which had left fixed investment at its lowest level since the 1970 recession and unemployment at 9%.<ref name="stat 88">{{cite web |url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/documents/1988-04.pdf |title=1988 Statistical Abstract of the United States |publisher=Department of Commerce |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212140458/https://www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/documents/1988-04.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> His last two years were marked by double-digit inflation, coupled with very high interest rates,<ref name="'70s 292">Bourne, p. 447.</ref> oil shortages, and slow economic growth.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/JubaksJournal/Is70sStyleStagflationComing.aspx |title=Is '70s-style stagflation returning? |author=Jim Jubak |work=Jubak's Journal |publisher=MSN |date=April 1, 2008 |access-date=October 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820042310/http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/JubaksJournal/Is70sStyleStagflationComing.aspx |archive-date=August 20, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Due to the $30&nbsp;billion economic stimulus legislation – such as the Public Works Employment Act of 1977 – proposed by Carter and passed by Congress, real household median had grown by 5.2%, with a projection of 6.4% for the next quarter.<ref>Bourne, p.422</ref>

The [[1979 oil crisis|1979 energy crisis]] ended this period of growth, and as inflation and interest rates rose, economic growth, job creation and [[consumer confidence]] declined sharply.<ref name="'70s 292" /> The relatively loose [[monetary policy]] adopted by [[Federal Reserve Board]] chairman [[G. William Miller]], had already contributed to somewhat higher inflation,<ref name="Inflation of 1970s">{{cite web |url=http://econ161.berkeley.edu/econ_articles/theinflationofthes.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970219022512/http://econ161.berkeley.edu/Econ_Articles/theinflationofthes.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 19, 1997 |title=The Inflation of the 1970s: November 21, 1978 |date=December 19, 1995 |publisher=[[University of California at Berkeley]] and National Bureau of Economic Research |access-date=March 18, 2012}}</ref> rising from 5.8% in 1976 to 7.7% in 1978. The sudden doubling of [[crude oil]] prices by [[OPEC]], the world's leading oil exporting [[cartel]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www-cta.ornl.gov/cta/Publications/Reports/ORNL-6873%20.pdf |title=The Outlook for U.S. Oil Dependence |publisher=U.S. Department of Energy |access-date=October 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170513154741/http://www-cta.ornl.gov/cta/Publications/Reports/ORNL-6873%20.pdf |archive-date=May 13, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> forced inflation to double-digit levels, averaging 11.3% in 1979 and 13.5% in 1980.<ref name="stat 88" /> The sudden shortage of gasoline as the 1979 summer vacation season began exacerbated the problem and came to symbolize the crisis to the general public;<ref name="'70s 292" /> the acute shortage, originating in the shutdown of [[Amerada Hess]] refining facilities, led to a lawsuit against the company that year by the federal government.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://md.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.%5CFCT%5CC04%5C1979%5C19791226_0040006.C04.htm/qx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120628221218/http://md.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.%5CFCT%5CC04%5C1979%5C19791226_0040006.C04.htm/qx |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 28, 2012 |access-date=September 9, 2021 |title=United States v. Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America}}</ref>

==== Deregulation ====
[[File:AirlineDeregulationAct.png|thumb|alt=Carter surrounded by a crowd of people as he signs the Airline Deregulation Act.|Carter signing the [[Airline Deregulation Act]], 1978]]
{{Main|Airline Deregulation Act}}

In 1977, Carter appointed [[Alfred E. Kahn]] to lead the [[Civil Aeronautics Board]] (CAB). He was part of a push for deregulation of the industry, supported by leading economists, leading think tanks in Washington, a civil society coalition advocating the reform (patterned on a coalition earlier developed for the truck-and-rail-reform efforts), the head of the regulatory agency, Senate leadership, the Carter administration, and even some in the airline industry. This coalition swiftly gained legislative results in 1978.<ref>{{cite book |title=Contrived Competition: Regulation and Deregulation in America |last=Vietor |first=Richard H. K. |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-43679-4 |oclc=897163998}}</ref>

Carter signed the [[Airline Deregulation Act]] into law on October 24, 1978. The main purpose of the act was to [[Airline deregulation|remove government control]] over fares, routes and market entry (of new airlines) from [[commercial aviation]]. The Civil Aeronautics Board's powers of regulation were to be phased out, eventually allowing market forces to determine routes and fares. The Act did not remove or diminish the [[Federal Aviation Administration|FAA's]] regulatory powers over all aspects of airline safety.<ref>{{cite book |title=Practical Applications in Business Aviation Management |isbn=978-1-60590-770-3 |last1=Cannon |first1=James R. |last2=Richey |first2=Franklin D. |year=2012|publisher=Government Institutes }}</ref>

In 1979, Carter deregulated the American beer industry by making it legal to sell [[malt]], [[hops]], and [[yeast]] to American [[Homebrewing|home brewers]] for the first time since the effective 1920 beginning of [[prohibition in the United States]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2011/08/beer-charts |title=Beer Charts of the Day |first=Tom |last=Philpott |work=Mother Jones |date=August 17, 2011 |access-date=December 10, 2011 |archive-date=December 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111218221821/http://motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2011/08/beer-charts |url-status=live }}</ref> This deregulation led to an increase in home brewing over the 1980s and 1990s that by the 2000s had developed into a strong craft [[Microbrewery|microbrew]] culture in the United States, with 9,118 microbreweries, brewpubs, and regional craft breweries in the United States by the end of 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Association |first=Brewers |date=April 5, 2022 |title=Brewers Association Releases Annual Craft Brewing Industry Production Report and Top 50 Producing Craft Brewing Companies for 2021 |url=https://www.brewersassociation.org/press-releases/brewers-association-releases-annual-craft-brewing-industry-production-report-and-top-50-producing-craft-brewing-companies-for-2021/ |access-date=February 19, 2023 |website=Brewers Association |language=en-US |archive-date=February 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209063838/https://www.brewersassociation.org/press-releases/brewers-association-releases-annual-craft-brewing-industry-production-report-and-top-50-producing-craft-brewing-companies-for-2021/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Healthcare ====
During his presidential campaign, Carter embraced healthcare reform akin to the [[Ted Kennedy]]-sponsored bipartisan [[universal health care|universal]] [[national health insurance]].<ref>Multiple sources
* {{cite news |last=Reinhold |first=Robert |date=April 17, 1976 |title=Carter proposes U.S. health plan; says he favors mandatory insurance financed from wage and general taxes |newspaper=The New York Times |page=1 |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30717FD3E5F167493C5A8178FD85F428785F9 |quote=Although Mr. Carter left some details a bit vague today, his proposal seemed almost identical to the so-called Kennedy-Corman health security plan. His position on the issue is now substantially the same as that of his chief rivals, Senator Hubert H. Humphrey, Senator Henry M. Jackson and Representative Morris K. Udall. All three are co-sponsors of the Kennedy-Corman bill. |access-date=September 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521003608/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30717FD3E5F167493C5A8178FD85F428785F9 |archive-date=May 21, 2013 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite news |last=Auerbach |first=Stuart |date=April 17, 1976 |title=Carter gives broad outline for national health plan; cost unknown |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=A1 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/120359627.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI |quote=The outlines of Carter's program are close to one sponsored by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and strongly supported by organized labor. |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=January 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130082012/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/120359627.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI |url-status=live }}
* {{cite news |agency=United Press International |date=April 17, 1976 |title=Carter urges universal health plan |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |page=4 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/613101652.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI |quote=Although Carter didn't provide an estimate of what his health plan would cost taxpayers, it features many proposals similar to plans suggested by others, including Sen. Edward Kennedy [D., Mass.] which are estimated to cost at least $40 billion annually. |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=January 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130082000/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/613101652.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI |url-status=live }}</ref> Carter's proposals on healthcare while in office included an April 1977 mandatory health care cost proposal,<ref>{{cite book |year=1978 |chapter=Hospital cost control |title=Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 95th Congress 1st Session....1977 |journal=Congressional Quarterly Almanac Plus |volume=33 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Congressional Quarterly |pages=499–507 |issn=0095-6007 |oclc=1564784}}</ref> and a June 1979 proposal that provided private health insurance coverage.<ref name="NHI: CQ Almanac 1979">{{cite book |year=1980 |chapter=National health insurance |title=Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 96th Congress 1st Session....1979 |journal=Congressional Quarterly Almanac Plus |volume=35 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Congressional Quarterly |pages=536–540 |issn=0095-6007 |oclc=1564784}}</ref> Carter saw the June 1979 proposal as a continuation of progress in American health coverage. President [[Harry S. Truman]] proposed a designation of health care as a basic right of Americans and [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]] and [[Medicaid]] were introduced under President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/national-health-plan-remarks-announcing-proposed-legislation |title=National Health Plan Remarks Announcing Proposed Legislation. (12 June 1979) |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=August 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816100742/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/national-health-plan-remarks-announcing-proposed-legislation |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/national-health-plan-message-the-congress-proposed-legislation |title=National Health Plan Message to the Congress on Proposed Legislation. (12 June 1979) |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212140641/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/national-health-plan-message-the-congress-proposed-legislation |url-status=live }}</ref> The April 1977 mandatory health care cost proposal was passed in the Senate,<ref>{{cite book |year=1979 |chapter=Hospital cost control legislation dies |title=Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 95th Congress 2nd Session....1978 |journal=Congressional Quarterly Almanac Plus |volume=34 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Congressional Quarterly |pages=619–625 |issn=0095-6007 |oclc=1564784}}</ref> but later defeated in the House.<ref>{{cite book |year=1980 |chapter=House kills Carter hospital cost control plan |title=Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 96th Congress 1st Session....1979 |journal=Congressional Quarterly Almanac Plus |volume=35 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Congressional Quarterly |pages=512–518 |issn=0095-6007 |oclc=1564784}}</ref> During 1978, he met with Kennedy over a compromise healthcare law that proved unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zelizer |first1=Julian |title=Jimmy Carter |date=2010 |publisher=Times Books |isbn=978-0-8050-8957-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/jimmycarter00zeli/page/78 78] |url=https://archive.org/details/jimmycarter00zeli/page/78}}</ref> He later said Kennedy's disagreements thwarted his plan to provide a comprehensive American health care system.<ref>{{cite book |first=Jimmy |last=Carter |author-link=Jimmy Carter |title=Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President |publisher=Bantam Books |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-553-05023-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/keepingfaithmemo00cart/page/86 86–87] |url=https://archive.org/details/keepingfaithmemo00cart/page/86}}</ref>

==== Education ====
Early into his term, Carter collaborated with Congress to fulfill his campaign promise to create a cabinet level education department. In an address from the White House on February 28, 1978, Carter argued "Education is far too important a matter to be scattered piecemeal among various government departments and agencies, which are often busy with sometimes dominant concerns."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/elementary-and-secondary-education-remarks-announcing-the-administrations-proposals-the |title=Elementary and Secondary Education Remarks Announcing the Administration's Proposals to the Congress. (28 February 1978) |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=August 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818211940/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/elementary-and-secondary-education-remarks-announcing-the-administrations-proposals-the |url-status=live }}</ref> On February 8, 1979, the Carter administration released an outline of its plan to establish an education department and asserted enough support for the enactment to occur by June.<ref name="Dept of Ed outlined">{{cite news |title=Department of Education Outlined |agency=Associated Press |date=February 9, 1979 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IkwNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5661,1224804 |archive-date=October 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211012023354/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IkwNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5661,1224804&dq=department+of+education |url-status=live }}</ref> On October 17, the same year, Carter signed the [[Department of Education Organization Act]] into law,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/department-education-organization-act-statement-signing-s-210-into-law |title=Department of Education Organization Act Statement on Signing S. 210 Into Law. (17 October 1979) |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=September 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902142407/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/department-education-organization-act-statement-signing-s-210-into-law |url-status=live }}</ref> establishing the [[United States Department of Education]].<ref name="Dept of Ed created">{{cite news |title=Education Department Created |agency=United Press International |date=October 18, 1979 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0sZUAAAAIBAJ&pg=1984,3959160 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Carter expanded the [[Head Start (program)|Head Start]] program with the addition of 43,000 children and families,<ref name="ilheadstart">{{cite web |url=http://ilheadstart.org/about-ihsa/history-goals-and-values/head-start-a-historical-perspective/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220025932/http://ilheadstart.org/about-ihsa/history-goals-and-values/head-start-a-historical-perspective/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 20, 2013 |website=ilheadstart.org |title=A Historical Perspective |access-date=March 13, 2017}}</ref> while the percentage of nondefense dollars spent on education was doubled.<ref name="google">{{cite book |title=American Presidents and Education |author=Berube, M.R. |date=1991 |publisher=Greenwood |isbn=978-0-313-27848-8 |url={{GBurl|id=CZ18F-KzLREC|p=49}} |page=49 |access-date=March 13, 2017}}</ref> Carter was complimentary of the [[presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson]] and the [[89th United States Congress]] for having initiated Head Start.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/15th-anniversary-project-head-start-remarks-white-house-reception |title=15th Anniversary of Project Head Start Remarks at a White House Reception. (12 March 1980) |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=October 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211012010119/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/15th-anniversary-project-head-start-remarks-white-house-reception |url-status=live }}</ref> In a speech on November 1, 1980, Carter stated his administration had extended Head Start to migrant children and was "working hard right now with [[Lloyd Bentsen|Senator Bentsen]] and with [[Kika de la Garza]] to make as much as $45 million available in federal money in the border districts to help with the increase in school construction for the number of Mexican school children who reside here legally".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/brownsville-texas-remarks-rally-with-area-residents |title=Brownsville, Texas Remarks at a Rally With Area Residents. (1 November 1980) |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212140544/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/brownsville-texas-remarks-rally-with-area-residents |url-status=live }}</ref>