The Last Gasp of Stakeholder Capitalism: The 1960s (2 of 2)

This long post chronicles the last, albeit significant gasp, of stakeholder capitalism.

Kennedy administration

The CED remained influential during the Kennedy administration, especially in trade and tax policies. Kennedy appointed many business leaders to key positions in his administration. These included Walter Heller, Paul Samuelson, a Nobel prize winner and perhaps the most respected Keynesian economist, and Kermit Gordon.

CED’s first success was enactment of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. This gave the president significant authority to negotiate lower tariffs. Kennedy appointed Howard Peterson, a CED trustee, as his special trade advisor, to begin drafting new trade legislation. To get the new trade bill passed Kennedy had to agree to impose quotas on foreign textiles and increase subsidies for Southern cotton growers.… Read the rest