President John F. Kennedy used repetition, irony, and statistics in his commentary over stable prices and wagers during the end of the recession in 1962.
Kennedy repeated the phrase ‘when we are’ several times from line six to line nine. By repeating the used phrase, Kennedy stresses that he, too, is trying to help bring the United States out of the recession. Kennedy is trying to show that even though he is better off than most of the people during the recession, it is effecting him too. Kennedy stated, ‘When we are devoting our energies to economic recovery and stability.’ Kennedy had called for stable prices and wages as a part of a program of national sacrifice to help bring the United States back up on its feet.
Kennedy had noted that the steel industry had not only increased their pricing, but had also made such a large profit during the recession that the United States was experiencing. ‘The industry’s cash dividends have exceeded 600 million dollars in each of the last five years, and earnings in the first quarter of this year were estimated in the February 28th Wall Street Journal to be among the highest in history.’ By observing this irony, Kennedy also pointed out, from lines twenty-two to twenty-seven as well as lines sixty-nine to seventy-four, that if the actions of the steel industry were mimicked by the other industries that the United States’ efforts would be pushed further back.
Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara, gave Kennedy information that an estimated one billion dollars to the cost of the United States’ defenses would make it more difficult for the American goods to compete in foreign markets. Also, the Acting Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics quoted that, ‘Employment costs per unit of steel output in 1961 were essentially the same as they were in 1958.’ By using statistics in his commentary, Kennedy proved a strong point to how the steel industry was truly effecting the recession regardless of the United...