The 1962 Steel Crisis That Bent Presidential Power

In April 1962, U.S. Steel announced a 3.5% price increase, breaking a tacit anti-inflation agreement with President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy's furious response — jawboning, FBI investigations, and a reference to his father's supposed betrayal — forced a rapid rollback but triggered the worst stock market crash since 1929. This episode unpacks how a single industry decision collided with macroeconomic policy, the limits of presidential jawboning, and why the episode still haunts White House economic strategy. Lucas and Luna explore the personalities, the market fallout, and the enduring lesson about jawboning versus actual price controls. Specific figures: U.S. Steel CEO Roger Blough, JFK's 1961 'guideposts' for noninflationary wage and price behavior, and the May 28, 1962 market plunge that erased $20 billion in market value in a single day. #1962SteelCrisis #JFK #RogerBlough #U.S.Steel #Jawboning #PresidentialPower #MarketCrash1962 #InflationPolicy #Guideposts #SteelIndustry #Antitrust #EconomicHistory #Economics #BusinessHistory #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #TheEconomicHistoryPodcast #LessonsFromHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo