ABSTRACT
President-elect John F. Kennedy’s announcement of his appointment of Walter W. Heller, a Minnesota economist, as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers came in December 1960 as he was also announcing his Cabinet appointments. In addition to working on the President’s major economic messages, Heller was a member of the group of close advisers that routinely met with JFK to brief him prior to press conferences. The basic concern of economic policy in the early 1960s was the conflict between economic growth and stability that had dominated the Dwight D. Eisenhower years. Persistent unemployment was recognized from the beginning of the Kennedy administration as perhaps the major economic problem, but the President’s concern with maintaining an image of fiscal responsibility had limited his ability to act. Kennedy preferred to deal with small groups whenever possible and only with reluctance held large formal cabinet meetings.
