1983
April 2, 2021
–NFP today expected 660k with yoy earnings +4.5%
–ISM Mfg released yesterday with a print of 64.7. Oh sure. It’s been higher than that. In 1983. Dude: 1983. I don’t think they even said “dude” back then. Have to wait until 1987 for Aerosmith’s Dude looks like a lady. Anyway, was 1983 anything like today?
Let’s start with some economic data from year-end:
Inflation (CPI) 3.8% (and falling)
Unemployment 8.3%
Fed Funds 9.5%(who says there can’t be inflation with labor slack?)
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Michael Jackson’s Thriller released.
Microsoft Word was launched.
The UK introduced the 1 pound coin.
More music: Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart.
Now you’ll have that stupid song stuck in your head all day. You’re welcome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcOxhH8N3Bo
And, in a nod to my colleague Trent:
She Blinded Me with Science
Here are a few headline snippets:
https://worldhistoryproject.org/1983/page/5
On March 3, 1983, he [Ronald Reagan] predicted that communism would collapse, stating, “Communism is another sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose last pages even now are being written.” In a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals on March 8, 1983, Reagan called the Soviet Union “an evil empire.”
–[Parallels today: the US is moving closer to communism and the President still puts Russia in the ‘evil empire’ category].
Apr 1983
Keith Richards appears on the cover of Guitar Player
In 1983, two separate research groups led by Robert Gallo and Luc Montagnier independently declared that a novel retrovirus may have been infecting AIDS patients, and published their findings in the same issue of the journal Science.
Vanessa Williams Becomes the First African-American Miss America
The Big Chill is a 1983 film about a group of baby boomer college friends who reunite after many years and explore the aftermath of the 1960s.
North Korean Operatives Detonate Bomb in Rangoon in Unsuccessful Attempt on Life of South Korean President, Chun Doo Hwan
Scarface is a 1983 epic crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana.
“[Frank Lopez] Lesson Number One: Don’t Underestimate The Other Guy’s Greed! [Elvira Hancock] Lesson Number Two: Don’t Get High On Your Own Supply.”
