The year following a presidential election is usually a year of big decisions in the United States. President Carter will have a difficult first year unless greater confidence in the future can be restored. By the most traditional measures of economic performance, 1976 was the best year for the U.S. economy on record. Hoadley predicts that 1977 will be an "up" year. The U.S. had a sharp economic acceleration followed by an economic deceleration, and he discusses the effects of boom and bust. The key to achieving sustainable moderate growth, according to Hoadley, is more reality in expectations. It is urgent to give more attention to grass-roots policy making. Hoadley also discusses job creation potential, redistribution of wealth, and the Tax Reform Act of 1976. He talks about projects for private investment, the future of the Third World, and gives an analysis of the November election.

Hoadley's biography includes: Executive vice president and chief economist, Bank of America NT&SA, San Francisco, 1968-81; senior research fellow, Hoover Institution, 1981-2003; president, Commonwealth Club of California, 1987; author, "Looking Behind the Crystal Ball," 1988.