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Poverty Quotes

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Poverty Quotes

“If we're all led to believe that poverty is just a matter of laziness or stupidity or whatever other justifications we can come up with, then we're not likely to be in a real position to do much about it when it comes to attacking the root cause of the problem. Instead of demanding a more equitable system for the distribution of social and economic goods, we blame the victim. This is insidious, because ideology is something we carry around with us in our heads; it forms the basis of our day-to-day understanding of the world.”

Source: Making a Killing: The Political Economy of Animal Rights

“And every historic effort to forge a democratic project has been undermined by two fundamental realities: poverty and paranoia. The persistence of poverty generates levels of despair that deepen social conflict the escalation of paranoia produces levels of distrust that reinforce cultural division. Rae is the most explosive issue in American life precisely because it forces us to confront the tragic facts of poverty and paranoia despair, and distrust. In short, a candid examination of race matters takes us to the core of the crisis of American democracy (p. 107).”

Source: Race Matters: With a New Introduction

“Poverty is less a matter of income than of prospects. While the incomes of the poor have steadily risen through Great Society largesse, their prospects have plummeted as families have broken into dependent fragments.”

Matter Poor Poverty Broken Income Dependent Fragments Risen Prospects Great Society Largesse

Author:George Gilder

“Eradicate poverty. This is all that matters in my country. When I am out training I think about this a lot; when I am running it is going over in my mind. As a country we cannot move forward until we eradicate poverty.”

Thinking Mind Country Matter Running Romance Moving Poverty Training Moving Forward Keep Moving Forward

Author:Haile Gebrselassie

“To give either to any public matter of interest or to any concern of my own, but I am in utter poverty by reason of my devotion to the god .”

Giving Matter Reason Interest My Own Poverty Concern Devotion

Author:Socrates

“You seem to think that everyone can save money if they have the character to do it. As a matter of fact, there are innumerable people who have a wide choice between saving and giving their children the best possible opportunities. The decision is usually in favor of the children.”

People Ifs Thinking Giving Children Matter Character Facts Seems Choices Opportunity Decision Poverty Wide Favors Saving Matter Of Fact Saving Money

Author:Eleanor Roosevelt

“Poverty is a strange and elusive thing. ... I condemn poverty and I advocate it; poverty is simple and complex at once; it is a social phenomenon and a personal matter. Poverty is an elusive thing, and a paradoxical one. We need always to be thinking and writing about it, for if we are not among its victims its reality fades from us. We must talk about poverty because people insulated by their own comfort lose sight of it.”

People Ifs Thinking Needs Writing Matter Reality Social Loses Simple Poverty Strange Comfort Sight Victim Complexes Phenomenon Fades Elusive Paradoxical Personal Matter Simple And Complex

Author:Dorothy Day

“Illiteracy at the poverty level (mainly a matter of bad grammar) does not alarm me nearly as much as the illiteracy of the well-to-do.”

Wells Doe Matter Poor Levels Poverty Rich Grammar Alarms Rich And Poor Illiteracy Bad Grammar

Book:Occasional prose

Source: Occasional prose

“The crime should be punished no matter whether poverty or wealth caused it to occur, because the crime is wrong.”

Should Matter Wealth Poverty Crime Punishment

Author:Ernest Van den Haag

“No matter how well-born, how intelligent, how highly educated, how virtuous, how rich, how refined, the women of to-day constitutea political class below that of every man, no matter how base-born, how stupid, how ignorant, how vicious, how poverty-stricken, how brutal. The pauper in the almshouse may vote; the lady who devotes her philanthropic thought to making that almshouse habitable, may not. The tramp who begs cold victuals in the kitchen may vote; the heiress who feeds him and endows universities may not.”

“It is only luxury and avarice that make poverty grievous to us; for it is a very small matter that does our business, and when we have provided against cold, hunger, and thirst, all the rest is but vanity and excess.”

Doe Matter Poverty Cold Hunger Luxury Vanity Excess Thirst Avarice Hunger And Thirst

Author:Seneca the Younger

“I do not believe we can truly enter into our own inner pain and wounds and open our hearts to others unless we have had an experience of God, unless we have been touched by God. We must be touched by the Father in order to experience, as the prodigal son did, that no matter how wounded we may be, we are loved. And not only are we loved, but we too are called to heal and to liberate. This healing power in us will not come from our capacities and our riches, but in and through our poverty. We are called to discover that God can bring peace, compassion and love through our wounds.”

Believe Heart May Has Beens Matter Pain Order Father Healing Compassion Poverty Son Capacity And Love Riches Wounds Heal Touched Wounded Prodigals Prodigal Son

Author:Jean Vanier

“The hour when you say, "What does my happiness matter? It is poverty and filth, and a wretched complacency. Yet my happiness should justify existence itself!”

Should Doe Matter Happiness Hours Existence Poverty Justify Wretched Complacency Filth

Author:Friedrich Nietzsche

“It is up to us to take care of this planet, it is our only home. To betray nature is to betray us. To save nature is to save us. Because whatever you're fighting for, racism or poverty. Feminism, gay rights or any type of equality. It won't matter in the least. Because if we don't all work together to save the environment, we will be equally extinct.”

“In accordance to the principles of doublethink, it does not matter if the war is not real, or when it is, that victory is not possible. The war is not meant to be won. It is meant to be continuous. The essential act of modern warfare is the destruction of the produce of human labour. A hierarchical society is only possible on the basis of poverty and ignorance. In principle, the war effort is always planned to keep society on the brink of starvation. The war is waged by the ruling group against its own subjects, and its object is not victory over Eurasia or Eastasia, but to keep the very structure of society intact.”

Ifs Different War Real Matter Past Effort Principles Poverty Groups Subjects Objects Ignorance Victory Bases Structure East Versions Meant To Be Asia Ruling Starvation East Asia

Author:Michael Moore

“Anything we do to fight misery and ignorance and poverty, no matter how imperfect it may be, is still better than doing nothing at all.”

May Stills Matter Fighting Poverty Ignorance Misery Imperfect Doing Nothing

Book:The Philosopher's Kiss: A Novel

Source: The Philosopher's Kiss: A Novel

“No nation ever taxed itself into prosperity. You could afford your house without the government-if it weren't for the government. Character matters; leadership descends from character. If you commit a crime, you're guilty. Compassion is no substitute for justice. Poverty is not the root cause of crime. The Los Angeles riots were not caused by the Rodney King verdict. The Los Angeles riots were caused by rioters.”

Ifs Matter Character Government House Nations Causes Justice Compassion Poverty Crime Kings Roots Prosperity Commit Guilty Los Angeles Substitutes Riot Verdict Root Cause

Author:Rush Limbaugh

“It's immoral to parent irresponsibly... And it doesn't help matters any when prime time tv, like "Murphy Brown", a character who is supposed to represent a successful career woman of today, mocks the importance of the father by bearing a child alone, and calling it just another "lifestyle choice." Marriage is probably the best anti-poverty program there is... Even though our cultural leaders in Hollywood, network TV, the national newspapers routinely jeer at [such values] I think most of us in this room know that some things are good, and other things are wrong.”

“In the Catholic Worker we must try to have the voluntary poverty of St. Francis, the charity of St. Vincent de Paul, the intellectual approach of St. Dominic, the easy conversations about things that matter of St. Philip Neri, the manual labor of St. Benedict.”

Trying Matter Easy Poverty Conversation Approach Intellectual Labor Catholic Charity Workers Manuals Things That Matter Philip Manual Labor St Benedict

Author:Peter Maurin

“Science comforting man's animal poverty and leisuring his toil, hath humanized manners and social temper, and now above her globe-spredd net of speeded intercourse hath outrun all magic, and disclosing the secrecy of the reticent air hath woven a web of invisible strands spiriting the dumb inane with the quick matter of life.”

Men Matter Social Animal Poverty Magic Air Invisible Manners Dumb Temper Globes Toil Comforting Secrecy Intercourse Woven Strands Outrun

Author:Robert Bridges

“The existence of poverty in the US should not be accepted as a necessary evil or insoluble problem, but should be considered a crisis requiring emergency measures. It is a matter of will and priorities, not a matter of resources.”

Should Matter Problem Evil Existence Poverty Resources Crisis Accepted Priorities Emergencies Necessary Evil

Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.

“One of the unspoken themes that I'm grappling with in Day of Honey is the relationship between violence and cosmopolitanism. It's one thing to comprehend violence as an outgrowth of ignorance, poverty, and backwardness. It's another matter entirely to confront incredible atrocities in a country with a rich civic and intellectual life.”

Country Matter Poverty Rich Violence One Thing Ignorance Intellectual Incredibles Theme Honey Civics Atrocities Unspoken Grappling Intellectual Life Cosmopolitanism

Author:Annia Ciezadlo

“We can ignore suffering no matter where we live. There are people who live a few miles from me who never see much poverty or the injustices that live on our doorstep.”

People Matter Suffering Poverty Injustice Miles Doorstep

Author:Shane Claiborne

“I've come across a lot of people in my life who talk about poverty and talk about the poor, but you rarely have a sense that it matters to them to the point at which they will be willing to sacrifice something.”

People Matter Poor Poverty Sacrifice Willing

Author:Kumi Naidoo

“We draw many benefits from globalization that people take for granted. Poverty has been reduced massively around the world. If you look at the Chinese numbers, it is quite mind-boggling: 700 million people taken out of poverty in a matter of 40 years, the poverty rate having moved from over 30 per cent from hardly six per cent now. That would not have happened if there had not been globalization.”

People Ifs World Years Mind Looks Has Beens Matter Numbers Poverty Millions Taken Happened Six Benefits Draws Moved Rate Around The World Granted Chinese Cents Globalization Mind Boggling

Author:Christine Lagarde

“Barack Obama's been president for about eight hours; President Obama was here for eight years. So if you want to talk about numbers that matter, it's quantifying all the losses - the women who were slid into poverty, those who can't find meaningful work, and their children who deserve a better life.”

Ifs Want Years Children Matter President Hours Loss Numbers Poverty Deserve Eight Meaningful Barack President Obama Better Life Find Me Meaningful Work

Author:Kellyanne Conway

“The matter of social security and these grants is to help to address the levels of poverty in the country.”

Country Matter Helping Social Levels Poverty Security Addresses Grants Social Security

Author:Thabo Mbeki

“I have seen a lot of men, for example, who will make a will and include their daughters whether they are married or not. And perhaps the greatest change of attitude is that today, at least in Kenya, if you don't send your child to school - unless it's a matter of poverty or religion, and it is not that there no schools - then people wonder, "why the hell don't you send your children to school?" Now that's a very big jump from when I was going to school and educating girls was an exception to the rule.”

People Ifs Men Children Matter Bigs Today School Girl Attitude Wonder Poverty Hell Example Married Daughter Our Children Your Children Exception Kenya Exception To The Rule

Author:Wangari Maathai

“We should not think of poverty eradication as a matter of collecting money and giving it to the poor so much as of reforming the global rules that are disadvantaging the poor and making it impossible for them to fend for themselves.”

Thinking Giving Should Matter Poor Poverty Impossible Collecting

Author:Thomas Pogge

“Do not waste your time on Social Questions. What is the matter with the poor is Poverty; what is the matter with the rich is Uselessness.”

Matter Political Social Poor Poverty Rich Society Waste Vegan Rebellious Rich And Poor Uselessness Rich Poor Riches And Poors

Book:The Collected Works of George Bernard Shaw: Plays, Novels, Articles, Lectures, Letters and Essays: Pygmalion, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Candida, Arms and The Man, Man and Superman, Caesar and Cleopatra, Androcles And The Lion, The New York Times Articles on War, Memories of Oscar Wilde and more

Source: The Collected Works of George Bernard Shaw: Plays, Novels, Articles, Lectures, Letters and Essays: Pygmalion, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Candida, Arms and The Man, Man and Superman, Caesar and Cleopatra, Androcles And The Lion, The New York Times Articles on War, Memories of Oscar Wilde and more

“We need to recognise that what really matters isn't buying more and more consumer goods, but family, friends, and knowing that we are doing something worthwhile with our lives. Helping to reduce the appalling consequences of world poverty should be part of that reassessment.”

World Needs Should Matter Helping Poverty Knowing Our Lives Consequence Consumers Buying Goods Worthwhile Recognise Family Friends World Poverty

Author:Peter Singer

“Every life deserves a certain amount of dignity, no matter how poor or damaged the shell that carries it.”

Life Inspirational Matter Certain Poor Poverty Amount Deserve Dignity Damage Carrie Shells Deserving

Book:All Over but the Shoutin'

Source: All Over but the Shoutin'

“I think a lot about the poems I wasn't able to write...I masturbrated...Solitude is essentially a matter of pride; you bury yourself in your own scent. The issue is the same for all real poets. If you've been happy for too long, you become banal. By the same token, if you've been unhappy for a long time, you lose your poetic power...Happiness and poverty can only coexist for the briefest time. Afterword either happiness coarsens the poet or the poem is so true it destroys his happiness.”

Ifs Thinking Writing Long Real Matter Able Loses Poverty Issues Poet Pride Solitude Long Time Unhappy Poetic Scent Tokens Coexist

Author:Orhan Pamuk

“No matter how much I wanted all those things that I needed money to buy, there was some devilish current pushing me off in another direction -- toward anarchy and poverty and craziness. That maddening delusion that a man can lead a decent life without hiring himself out as a Judas Goat.”

Men Matter Wanted Poverty Needed Currents Decent Delusion Pushing Anarchy Hiring Goats Craziness Judas Devilish Decent Life

Book:The Rum Diary: Film Tie-in Edition

Source: The Rum Diary: Film Tie-in Edition

“Poor? What does that matter? When poverty creeps in at the door, love flies in through the window.”

Doe Matter Poor Poverty Doors Window Creeps

Book:Picture of Dorian Gray

Source: Picture of Dorian Gray