Economics in 1960

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Economics in 1960 Over 80 percent of the goods and services purchased by U.S. consumers each year are made in the United States; the rest are imported from other nations. In addition to spending by private households and businesses, government agencies at all levels (federal, state, and local) spend roughly an additional $1.5 trillion a year. In total, the annual value of all goods and services produced in the United States, known as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was $9.25 trillion in 1999. Those levels of production, consumption, and spending make the U.S. economy by far the largest economy the world has ever known—despite the fact that some other nations have far more people, land, or other resources. Through most of the 20th century, U.S. citizens also enjoyed the highest material standards of living in the world. Some nations have higher per capita (per person) incomes than the United States. However, these comparisons are based on international exchange rates, which set the value of a country's currency based on a narrow range of goods and services traded between nations. Most economists agree that the United States has a higher per capita income based on the total value of goods and services that households consume President John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) ushered in a more activist approach to governing. During his 1960 presidential campaign, Kennedy said he would ask Americans to meet the challenges of the "New Frontier." As president, he sought to accelerate economic growth by increasing government spending and cutting taxes, and he pressed for medical help for the elderly, aid for inner cities, and increased funds for education. Many of these proposals were not enacted, although Kennedy's vision of ... ... middle of paper ... ...ot enacted; one proposal that was, however, created the Peace Corps, which sends volunteer Americans overseas to assist developing countries in meeting their own needs The 1960s were a period in which the American people began to express a growing concern about the natural and human environment -- from the need to preserve natural lands to avoiding the dangers of air and water pollution. The federal government enacted many regulations to protect the quality of life. In the late 1950's and early 1960's, interest in stimulating economic growth and in the sources of growth led to the development of official input-output tables, capital stock estimates, and more detailed and timely State and local personal income estimates. In the late 1960's and 1970's, accelerating inflation prompted the development of improved measures of prices and inflation-adjusted output.

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