Miller succeeded Arthur Burns as Fed Chairman in March 1978. He inherited a high inflation economy, still suffering from the increase in oil prices from OPEC. The change in the Consumer Price Index was 4.9% in 1976 and 6.7% in 1977. In at least one speech, Miller identified inflation as the nation's primary domestic challenge since (in his view) it was the chief obstacle preventing full employment. Even so, he did not favor aggressive interest rate action that would jeopardize growth. For example, he supported the FOMC's continued policy of placing a tight target range around the federal funds rate that underpins much of the financial system. The modest increases in this target range during Miller's tenure did little to rein in inflation. In contrast, Miller's successor (Paul Volcker) supported more aggressive action (e.g. targeting a growth rate of monetary aggregates instead of a range for the federal funds rate, which allowed for larger and more rapid changes to the federal funds rate). In fact, Miller repeatedly argued during his first year in office that a recession and higher unemployment would accelerate inflation further. Miller also described the economy as being in "great shape" despite the headwinds caused by inflation and other factors.