Feeding back "excess "profits
In full-page ads across the country, Sears, Roebuck & Co. trumpeted a 5% reduction in its catalogue prices as a "voluntary" move "to help fight inflation." But the sudden—and suspect—volunteerism came after weeks of rising pressure from the Council on Wage and Price Stability (COWPS) and a phone call to the company's Chicago headquarters from none other than Jimmy Carter. It was the President's first such jawboning-by-wire, and the highest official he could reach was the senior vice president for public affairs; the others were out to lunch, and Chairman...
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