John F. Kennedy is a man who sought to bring regulation to the United States steel
industry. Government mandated prices and wages are the two issues that Kennedy addresses in
his proposed plan, promising that with great sacrifice as a country, the workers will be able to
live with the same low costs if they accept the same low wages. The problem with this
seemingly bullet--proof plan is the steel manufacturers who want to pump prices of raw steel,
then collect on the higher prices paid by manufacturers who purchase their raw material from the
major steel--producing companies.
The steel companies were in the middle of bouncing back from producing roughly 60%
of their profit potential; wages are not being risen because the steel output per man has increased
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There is credit to be
given to the companies for becoming so prosperous in the first place but the nation is in a
position where it needs cooperation from the incorporation.
President Kennedy sees that he needs to break up the corporate greed to protect the jobs
and lives of ~180 million hardworking Americans, Kennedy then reads that “The industry’s cash
dividends have exceeded 600 million dollars in each of the last five years, and earnings in the
first quarter if this were estimated in the February 28th Wall Street Journal to be among the
highest in history.” (Kennedy 69) this statement further proves solid ground for Kennedy’s initial
proposal to have the American steel companies sacrifice millions of dollars in profit to protect
the American people. Though many companies may think that making more money will increase
the economy they are overlooking a larger detail and that is consumer behavior. If consumers do
not want to buy a steel product then companies will purchase less steel from the manufacturers
which will lead to an over production of raw material (sunk cost) then which is a net loss for
everyone in the