Fortunes Contentment as Poverty Reduces Expectations

"Thank God for poverty
That makes and keeps us free
And lets us go our unobtrusive way,
Glad of the sun and rain,
Upright, serene, humane,
Contented with the fortune of a day."
- William Bliss Carman,
The Word at Saint Kavin's

Poverty is Treated as a Crime Rather Than Misfortune

"We should not so much esteem our poverty as a misfortune, were it not that the world treats it so much as a crime" -- Christian Nestell Bovee

Rich Wonder Why Poor Don't Ring the Dinner Bell

"Poverty is an anomaly to rich people; it is very difficult to make out why people who want dinner do not ring the bell" -- Walter Bagehot

Poverty Thwarts Men of Quality From Rising: Juvenal

"It is not easy for men to rise whose qualities are thwarted by poverty" -- Juvenal

Fear of Old Age Often a Fear of Poverty

“The most common cause of fear of old age is associated with the possibility of poverty” -- Napoleon Hill

Poverty is Only Contemptible When You Make It So

"Poverty is only contemptible when it is felt to be so. Doubtless the best way to make our poverty respectable is to seem never to feel it as an evil" -- Christian Nestell Bovee

Real poverty is lack of books: Sidonie Gabrielle

“Real poverty is lack of books” -- Sidonie Gabrielle

Love Conquers All But Poverty & Toothache: Mae West

“Love conquers all things except poverty and toothache” -- Mae West

Laziness is Soon Overtaken by Poverty: Ben Franklin

“Laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes him” -- Benjamin Franklin

Poverty is Not a Statistical Issue, But a Human Issue

"The issue of poverty is not a statistical issue. It is a human issue" -- James Wolfensohn

Poverty is Uncertainty, Galling Indignities & Harassment

"To live in poverty is to live with constant uncertainty, to accept galling indignities, and to expect harassment by the police, welfare officials and employers, as well as by others who are poor and desperate." -- Barbara Ehrenreich

36 Million Americans Live in Poverty: John Edwards

"I believe it is wrong, in a country of such wealth and prosperity, to have 36 million Americans living in poverty." -- John Edwards

There Was Never a War on Poverty, a Skirmish Maybe

"There was never a war on poverty. Maybe there was a skirmish on poverty" -- Andrew Cuomo

Poverty is Everyone's Problem: Gov. Kathleen Blanco

"Poverty is everyone's problem. It cuts across any line you can name: age, race, social, geographic or religious. Whether you are black or white; rich, middle-class or poor, we are ALL touched by poverty" -- Kathleen Blanco

Poverty Often Deprives a Man of all Spirit & Virtue

"Poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue; it is hard for an empty bag to stand upright" -- Benjamin Franklin

Liberalism means Emancipation From Poverty

"Liberalism, above all, means emancipation - emancipation from one's fears, his inadequacies, from prejudice, from discrimination, from poverty" -- Hubert H. Humphrey

Poverty is Worst of Evils & Strikes Dead Our Souls

"Poverty blights whole cities; spreads horrible pestilences; strikes dead the very souls of all who come within sight, sound, or smell of it" -- George Bernard Shaw

Poverty a Career for Well Paid People: Ronald Reagan

"Poverty is a career for lot's of well paid people" -- Ronald Reagan

From Nothing to Extreme Poverty: Groucho Marx

"I worked my way up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty." -- Groucho Marx

Social Ostracism & Invasion of Privacy: Pain of Poverty

"Poverty is relative, and the lack of food and of the necessities of life is not necessarily a hardship. Spiritual and social ostracism, the invasion of your privacy, are what constitute the pain of poverty" -- Alice Foote MacDougall

Lies About Poverty: Jolly Beggar, Happy Milkmaid...

"Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty—the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc." -- Mason Cooley

Every Dollar Spent on War Robs The Poor: Eisenhower

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed" -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Talent Stimulated by Poverty is Rare

"For every talent that poverty has stimulated it has blighted a hundred" -- John Gardner

Wars Against Poverty are Fought to Map Change

"Wars against nations are fought to change maps; wars against poverty are fought to map change" -- Muhammad Ali

Terrorism Flourishes in Areas of Poverty: Colin Powell

"Terrorism really flourishes in areas of poverty, despair and hopelessness, where people see no future" -- Colin Powell

Poverty Can Be Eradicated by Action: Nelson Mandela

"Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings" -- Nelson Mandela

Overcoming Poverty is an Act of Justice: Nelson Mandela

"Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice" -- Nelson Mandela

Poverty is Evil When There is Plenty: Kennedy

"I believe that, as long as there is plenty, poverty is evil" -- Robert Kennedy

Poverty No Disgrace, But Always Inconvenient

"Poverty is no disgrace to a man, but it is confoundedly inconvenient" -- Sydney Smith

Poverty is the Worst Form of Violence: Gandhi

"Poverty is the worst form of violence." Gandhi

Security Cannot Exist Where Poverty Hangs Over Heads

"Security, the chief pretense of civilization, cannot exist where the worst of dangers, the danger of poverty, hangs over everyone's head" -- George Bernard Shaw

Poverty is the Greatest Evil & the Worst Crime

"The greatest of evils and the worst of crimes is poverty" -- George Bernard Shaw

"Poverty is like Punishment for crime Not Commited

"Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn't commit" -- Eli Khamaro

Poverty is the Mother of Crime: Marcus Aurelius

"Poverty is the mother of crime" -- Marcus Aurelius

Almsgiving Perpetuates Poverty, Aid Resolves Poverty

"Almsgiving tends to perpetuate poverty; aid does away with it once and for all" -- Eva Perón

Poverty Not Solved by Giving Money: P.J. O'Rourke

"You can't get rid of poverty by giving people money" -- P.J. O'Rourke

Poverty Rocks the Cradle To Manhood for Great Men

"Poverty sits by the cradle of all our great men and rocks all of them to manhood" -- Heinrich Heine

True Poverty is Want of Superfluities Not Necessities

"Nature makes us poor only when we want necessaries, but custom gives the name of poverty to the want of superfluities" -- Samuel Johnson

Resolve Not to be Poor: Poverty an Enemy of Happiness

"Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it makes some virtues impracticable, and others extremely difficult" -- Samuel Johnson