I looked up the speech. It's bold, fearless and direct. Here's part of what Kennedy had to say:
Our Gross National Product ... counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armored cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities. Yet the Gross National Product does not ... include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country. ... And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.
Abraham Lincoln wrote that the purpose of government is to do for a community of people what they cannot do for themselves acting in their individual capacities. He also said that well administered government is expensive. The cost is great — and is only exceeded by the cost of not doing well what the people need done. And the value of what is obtained — freedom, a sense of order and belonging and justice, and hope for the future — is incalculable, and priceless.