Kennedy passed a bill providing some financial aid to depressed industrial and rural areas, including aid to education and medical health insurance. His liberal adviser's favored increased government spending to reduce unemployment, even if that meant a budget deficit. But, even still kennedy believed that prosperity for big business favored growth for the entire nation. The president asked Congress to ease antitrust restrictions and grant investment credit and tax breaks- actions th at pleased corporate interests. He was convinced that the government needed to limit the power of both large corporations and unions to set prices and wages. The alternative was a inflationary spiral in which wage increases would spark price increase followed by even higher wage demands. In order to prevent such a spiral, the Council of Economic Adviser's proposed that wage increases be given to workers only if their increases productivity kept prices stable. Kennedy was determined not to be seen as soft on communism. He promised to provide $20 billion in foreign aid to Latin america over ten years- about four times the aid given under Eisenhower. In return, Latin American nations would agree to reform unfair tax policies and begin agricultural land reforms. But, if successful, the alliance would discourage future Castro-style revolutions. The administration set up the Peace Corps. This program sent idealistic young men and women to Third World nations to provide technical, educational, and public health services. To back the new economic policies with military muscle, the pentagon directed jungle warfare schools, both in North Carolina and in the Canal Zone. The program was designed to train Latin American police and paramilitary groups as well wars of liberation.
