– JFK – The State Of The Economy – Aug. 13, 1962 –
The Economy, it seems, is always the prevailing topic of political conversation. Where are the jobs, where is the stimulus, where are the tax breaks, where is the future?
In 1962 it was no different and President Kennedy went before the microphones on August 13th 1962 to address the nation on the state of the Economy.
JFK – “I think it is also important that the President of the United States report to the American people because he is, with the Vice President, the only American official elected by all of the people in all of the fifty States.
Tonight I am going to talk to you about the American economy. I know that many of you have your eyes fixed in space and are interested and concerned about the extraordinary accomplishment of the Soviet Union in that area. I have said from the beginning that this country started late in the 1950’s. We are behind and we will be behind for a period in the future, but we are making a major effort now, and this country will be heard from in space as well as in other areas in the coming months and years, but tonight I want to talk about our economy.
I know that statistics and details of the economy may sometimes seem dry, but the economy and economic statistics are really a story of all of us as a country, and these statistics tell whether we are going forward or standing still or going backward. They tell whether an unemployed man can get a job or whether a man who has a job can get an increase in salary or own a home or whether he can retire in security or send his children to college. These are the people and the things behind the statistics.
I have been in office now for a year and a half, 81 weeks. When I came into office in January 1961 this country was in a recession. We have made a recovery from that recession, but what we are concerned about now is where we have been, where we are now, and what we must do in the future.”
Despite the difference in time and political climate, the issue is still there. Here is that complete address from August 13, 1962.
