Advising John F. Kennedy, 1960–63

Abstract Although he never joined the Council of Economic Advisers, around 1960, Paul Samuelson became known as President John F. Kennedy’s most important economic adviser, notably on the issue of how to increase the rate of economic growth. It was a period when his name was repeatedly in the newspapers. This chapter documents his involvement with Senator Kennedy before and during his Presidential campaign, and the advice he offered President Kennedy when he was forming his new administration. After discussion of the protracted negotiations over a tax cut, in which a major rival for the President’s ear was John Kenneth Galbraith, the chapter concludes with Kennedy’s assassination and reactions to it.