Keynes' arguments during this period centered on a few main concepts. First, he challenged the widely accepted notion that the market's own forces would spark a recovery. Secondly, he used history to argue that "capitalist economics limited the ability of private investment to stimulate renewed economic growth." (2) And, thirdly, that public investment was the way to stimulate the economy and boost consumption, which would bring about recovery to the market.

This year, 2021, has been an interesting one for most people, different than most years anyone has experienced. And now, after all the supply chain disruptions caused by a Chinese energy crisis, blocked canals, backlogged ports, government expenditures, work disruptions, and the massive death toll of COVID-19, severe inflation has taken hold. This blog will take a stroll back through time to explore the cost of commodities and other daily expenses in 1869 as reported in an 1871 "Special Report on Immigration" published by Edward Young, the then chief of the Bureau of Statistics, particularly evaluating the cost of living between states during the industrial revolution and the massive growth of the United States of America.

It wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as I had prepared it to be. The presentation judge wasn't even paying attention. He stopped writing or watching me halfway through my presentation. Most of the room was on their phones, and I felt shattered. However, after the session, the experience turned around.

I jumped to the front, rushed through my presentation, as we were pressed for time, answered questions, and reveled in the academic community that had shown up for the colloquium.