What was their Economic Situation?

When punk arose in the mid-1970s to 80s, New York and London were both in periods of economic downturn. In both the United States and Britain, unemployment was on the rise, due to deindustrialization brought about by neoliberal policies (from Reagan in the U.S. and Thatcher in the U.K.), automation, and globalization (which meant that factory labor could be outsourced from other cheaper countries). Both nations were also experiencing a phenomenon commonly called “stagflation”, which is a portmanteau of “stagnation” (referring to the state of the job market as deindustrialization proceeded; service jobs did not replace the lost factory jobs quickly enough) and “inflation” (which occurred for a multitude of reasons, some of which are the oil shocks from the OPEC Embargo of 1973 and the wage-price spirals that resulted from how increasing prices and wages fed into each other). Welfare cuts were also prevalent at this time. In a time when the economy was falling apart, the job market was failing, and social services were decaying, the youth felt hopeless and like they had no future, and these thoughts were then angrily screamed out alongside electric guitars.

In 1975, New York City went bankrupt. With the city being broke, urban rot flourished. Many punk shows were played in decrepit buildings. CGBG, a famous venue often attributed as the birthplace of (New York) punk, was once a biker bar in a bankrupt neighborhood. Mudd Club and Max’s Kansas City, two other well-known music venues that hosted punk rockers, were similarly set up in nondescript buildings. Crime was on the rise, as the police and fire departments were underfunded. The gritty and post-apocalyptic setting of the city drove many of those with greater economic means into the suburbs (“white flight”), leaving the city even poorer than before. Upkeep of living spaces was deemed too expensive. This created cheap housing in NYC, which attracted artists, especially those that could not fit into mainstream, corporate ideas of creativity. The economic condition of the city also influenced the DIY ethos heavily attributed to punk, as no one could afford fancy clothes for shows. The hopelessness for the future led young people to create their own punk bands, which was easy and cheap, since the punk scene was all about simplicity and accessibility. Punk bands often self-published their work as well, or through independent labels.