/biz/ - Business & Finance

>>1539681
A profitability crises broke out in the 1970s and you had stagflation. This provided the opportunity for a full reorientation of policies towards deregulating the financial sector and the Fed spiked interest rates making long term fixed-capital investments, which actually employ people, look less profitable in comparison to financial speculation. Remember the financial industry was highly regulated until the end of the 1970s. Here's a report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research "A Short History of Financial Deregulation in the United States" showing a overview of these issues:
http://cepr.net/documents/publications/dereg-timeline-2009-07.pdf
Two important events were:
>1978, Marquette vs. First of Omaha – Supreme Court allows banks to export the usury laws of their home state nationwide and sets off a competitive wave of deregulation, resulting in the complete elimination of usury rate ceilings in South Dakota and Delaware, among others
>1980, Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act – Legislation increases deposit insurance from $40,000 to $100,000, authorizes new authority to thrift institutions, and calls for the complete phase-out of interest rate ceilings on deposit accounts.

>>1539738
Private debt levels have been exploding; what you have is just an asset-price illusion i.e. people feel that their net worth is rising even when their debt servicing obligations are also rising and the access price to housing and other property keeps on increasing. Inflating real-estate and stocks doesn't only just benefit 1% of the population, it "befits" (or appears to at least) everyone with property or a retirement plan of some sort.