In 1962
President John F. Kennedy told the American people that we were going to land Americans on the moon in that decade. He did so knowing that we had not yet developed all the technology necessary to make that happen. But he pledged it knowing that it was to become an important aspect of the American spirit and identity, a way to create a strong legacy. All who heard the speech knew what else it was: a race to the moon.
We won.
On July 21, 1969 American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the person to walk on the moon.
In 1964
Just a little over a year after Kennedy’s moon shot speech, President Lyndon Johnson gave a speech before Congress in which he said “This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America…we shall not rest until that war is won. The richest nation on earth can afford to win it. We cannot afford to lose it.”
We lost.
In fact, in 1973 one out of every six Americans needed assistance to get by. Today, it’s one out of every four.
Sending human beings to the moon is a lot harder than eradicating poverty in your community.
Seven years is long enough…
… to assess the needs in your community, develop and implement solutions, and ensure the resources and opportunities are in place for individuals and families to build generational wealth rather than be stuck in generational poverty.
It is long enough to sunset or reduce the size of many government programs and eliminate the need for charitable organizations to do what people would prefer to do for themselves.