Carter’s Oil Crisis

Of all the errors Jimmy Carter committed, none has earned him more well-justified scorn than his handling of the 1970s energy crisis. True enough, he didn’t cause it. But he did make it much, much worse.

It might come as a surprise, but we agree with those who say it’s unfair to tar former President Carter with having caused the 1970s oil crisis. He didn’t.


The crisis in fact began in October of 1973, after the first Arab oil embargo, and continued for years as first President Nixon and then President Ford failed to get a grip on things.

The resulting four-fold jump in oil prices wasn’t Carter’s fault.

But let’s be clear: OPEC ended its embargo in 1974. Despite that, government-imposed price controls on output and prices remained in place. They weren’t fully removed until 1981. And that is Carter’s fault.

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