RE:RE:Eh TotallTool"Back in 1979-80 interest rates started rising."
That is not quite correct. Interest rates began rising years earlier than that. In fact, the rising price of gold in the 70s tracked rising interest rates. The time period you mention is when the new Chair of the Fed ramped up interest rate increases to kill the inflation of that time. In other words, the earlier members of the Fed were reluctant to move too quickly to slow the inflation of that time though they were increasing rates, just like now.
The difference between then and now is that the debt to GDP ratio is dramatically and very concerningly. This means that increasing interest rates too much too soon could not only seriously damage the economy, but could also displace the US as the leading economy in the world.
Sobering prospects, but more likely now than at any time since the US Civil War.