John F. Kennedy photo

Remarks to Members of the Committee for Economic Development.

May 16, 1962

Dean David, gentlemen:

I want to welcome you all to the White House. And I want to express my appreciation to you for your very excellent and constructive study on trade, the problems which we're going to have as well as the opportunities, as a result of the development of the Common Market, and also the policies which this Government should pursue and the country should pursue in attempting to take advantage of our chances.

In addition, I want to compliment the CED generally for the very constructive studies that it has made. Dean David just told me you're doing one now on agriculture. I'm hopeful that you--and I know you have been concerning yourselves with the problems in our balance of payments situation, our loss of gold, what actions we could take governmentally as well as privately, industrially, which would make some difference to this matter which concerns us all and over which we must acquire a greater degree of control.

One of the difficulties, of course, is that every proposal that we may make, whether it involves the question of the shipment of dependents overseas, or taxes on investments overseas, or other restraints which may be placed, all this of course cuts across interests; and we have to attempt to balance the national interest as well as all the private interests that may be involved.

What I think would be most helpful and constructive, and I've already suggested this to the business advisory group, would be the very close cooperation and detailed analysis by industrial groups, business groups, organizations such as yours, working with us in an attempt to bring this matter into balance within the next 2 years, which I believe must be done. So that there are many areas where your work can serve the public interest.

And, as I've said, I don't think that there's any group in the country which has recognized this consistently over a period of years more than the CED. So that we're glad to have one other evidence of this desire to serve the public, and also to express the hope that we can continue to work very closely in the coming months on all these issues which so involve the interests of all of us.

Another area which I think is worthy of concern is an analysis of some of the policies which are followed by industry and government particularly in the three key countries of Europe which have enjoyed substantial economic success in recent years, France, West Germany, and Italy--which have had high employment--France which has planned an economic growth rate of 5 1/2 percent up through 1975. And I think it's worthy of the most detailed study by the Government as well as by industrial groups of their experience, to see whether any of it is transferable, or whether it happens to come about as a result of a stage of economic growth somewhat different from ours.

So that the horizon is unlimited as far as the area of joint effort is concerned, and I therefore take great pleasure in welcoming you to the White House.

Note: The President spoke at 9:45 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. His opening words referred to Donald K. David, chairman of the board of trustees of the Committee for Economic Development and former Dean of the School of Business Administration of Harvard University.

John F. Kennedy, Remarks to Members of the Committee for Economic Development. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/235598

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