Poor Quotes | Beyond Motive

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Poor Quotes

"The walls are the publishers of the poor."

"The walls are the publishers of the poor."

Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan Journalist

194

"I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better."

"I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better."

Sophie Tucker, American Entertainer

138

"They've got us surrounded again, the poor bastards."

"They've got us surrounded again, the poor bastards."

Creighton W. Abrams, Jr., American Soldier

Poor, Creighton W. Abrams, Jr.

112

"I've been rich and I've been poor. It's better to be rich."

"I've been rich and I've been poor. It's better to be rich."

Gertrude Stein, American Author

101

"The rich, by unfair combinations, contribute frequently to prolong a season of distress among the poor."

"The rich, by unfair combinations, contribute frequently to prolong a season of distress among the poor."

Thomas Malthus, English Economist

77

"Bush is a very poor impromptu speaker. He does fine in small groups but when speaking without a script in front of large groups or answering questions he wasn't prepped for, he has problems."

"Bush is a very poor impromptu speaker. He does fine in small groups but when speaking without a script in front of large groups or answering questions he wasn't prepped for, he has problems."

Peter Schuyler, English Politician

Poor, Problems, Questions

76

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

Emma Lazarus, American Poet

73

"I was very poor and I was a waitress, and it's hard to be a poor waitress in New York."

"I was very poor and I was a waitress, and it's hard to be a poor waitress in New York."

Kristin Davis, American Actress

69

"The poor are the only consistent altruists; they sell all they have and give it to the rich."

"The poor are the only consistent altruists; they sell all they have and give it to the rich."

Holbrook Jackson, English Writer

67

"I know what it's like to be pregnant and nervous and poor."

"I know what it's like to be pregnant and nervous and poor."

Loretta Lynn, American Musician

67

"The world is richer than ever, and the gaps between rich and poor are wider."

"The world is richer than ever, and the gaps between rich and poor are wider."

Anna Lindh, Swedish Politician

66

"Above all things, I must not get angry. If I do get angry I knock all the teeth out of the mouth of the poor wretch who has angered me."

"Above all things, I must not get angry. If I do get angry I knock all the teeth out of the mouth of the poor wretch who has angered me."

Franz Schubert, Austrian Composer

66

"The rich are richer, and the poor are poorer, in the city than elsewhere; and, as a rule, the greater are the riches of the rich and the poverty of the poor."

"The rich are richer, and the poor are poorer, in the city than elsewhere; and, as a rule, the greater are the riches of the rich and the poverty of the poor."

Josiah Strong, American Clergyman

64

"He who hesitates is poor."

"He who hesitates is poor."

Mel Brooks, American Comedian

62

"I don't think I can tell any stories about how I lived in a van in Alaska. I grew up in the suburbs, I even had my own room. We weren't poor. Everything was very normal."

"I don't think I can tell any stories about how I lived in a van in Alaska. I grew up in the suburbs, I even had my own room. We weren't poor. Everything was very normal."

Lisa Loeb, American Musician

62

"It is a sin to be poor."

"It is a sin to be poor."

Charles Fillmore, American Educator

60

"I would be a traitor to these poor burned bodies if I came here to talk good fellowship."

"I would be a traitor to these poor burned bodies if I came here to talk good fellowship."

Rose Schneiderman, Polish Activist

60

"Beef also was difficult to be procured and exceedingly poor; the price nearly sixpence farthing per pound."

"Beef also was difficult to be procured and exceedingly poor; the price nearly sixpence farthing per pound."

William Bligh, British Soldier

59

"He ate and drank the precious Words, his Spirit grew robust; He knew no more that he was poor, nor that his frame was Dust."

"He ate and drank the precious Words, his Spirit grew robust; He knew no more that he was poor, nor that his frame was Dust."

Emily Dickinson, American Poet

Poor, Spirit, Words

59

"I think I'm a very poor piano player."

"I think I'm a very poor piano player."

Ray Manzarek, American Musician

58

"I've been poor and I've been rich, and rich is better."

"I've been poor and I've been rich, and rich is better."

Bessie Smith, American Musician

58

"Whereas it has long been known and declared that the poor have no right to the property of the rich, I wish it also to be known and declared that the rich have no right to the property of the poor."

"Whereas it has long been known and declared that the poor have no right to the property of the rich, I wish it also to be known and declared that the rich have no right to the property of the poor."

John Ruskin, English Writer

Poor, Property, Right

58

"Potter is jealous of potter, and craftsman of craftsman; and the poor have a grudge against the poor, and the poet against the poet."

"Potter is jealous of potter, and craftsman of craftsman; and the poor have a grudge against the poor, and the poet against the poet."

Hesiod, Greek Poet

57

"And plenty makes us poor."

"And plenty makes us poor."

John Dryden, English Poet

56

"Though I be poor, I'm honest."

"Though I be poor, I'm honest."

Thomas Middleton, English Poet

55

"For those of you who don't understand Reaganomics, it's based on the principle that the rich and the poor will get the same amount of ice. In Reaganomics, however, the poor get all of theirs in winter."

"For those of you who don't understand Reaganomics, it's based on the principle that the rich and the poor will get the same amount of ice. In Reaganomics, however, the poor get all of theirs in winter."

Mo Udall, American Politician

Poor, Will, Winter

55

"In real terms, there is a greater disparity of earnings between the very rich and the very poor."

"In real terms, there is a greater disparity of earnings between the very rich and the very poor."

Ferdinand Mount, British Writer

54

"Suffice it to say, I'm not poor."

"Suffice it to say, I'm not poor."

August Wilson, American Playwright

54

"I firmly believe that our salvation depends on the poor."

"I firmly believe that our salvation depends on the poor."

Dorothy Day, American Activist

Poor, Salvation

54

"Poor human reason, when it trusts in itself, substitutes the strangest absurdities for the highest divine concepts."

"Poor human reason, when it trusts in itself, substitutes the strangest absurdities for the highest divine concepts."

John Chrysostom, Greek Clergyman

53

"No one is rich whose expenditures exceed his means, and no one is poor whose incomings exceed his outgoings."

"No one is rich whose expenditures exceed his means, and no one is poor whose incomings exceed his outgoings."

Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Canadian Author

53

"The rich don't exploit the poor. They just out-compete them."

"The rich don't exploit the poor. They just out-compete them."

David Brooks, American Politician

52

"Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor."

"Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor."

James A. Baldwin, American Author

52

"Africa is poor because its investors and its creditors are unspeakably rich."

"Africa is poor because its investors and its creditors are unspeakably rich."

Naomi Klein, Canadian Journalist

52

"If you're poor and you do something stupid, you're nuts. If you're rich and do something stupid, you're eccentric."

"If you're poor and you do something stupid, you're nuts. If you're rich and do something stupid, you're eccentric."

Bobby Heenan, American Entertainer

52

"I was always a self-proclaimed poor slider."

"I was always a self-proclaimed poor slider."

Willie Stargell, American Athlete

51

"It's not hard to tell we was poor - when you saw the toilet paper dryin' on the clothesline."

"It's not hard to tell we was poor - when you saw the toilet paper dryin' on the clothesline."

George Lindsey, American Actor

51

"The paperback is very interesting but I find it will never replace the hardcover book - it makes a very poor doorstop."

"The paperback is very interesting but I find it will never replace the hardcover book - it makes a very poor doorstop."

Alfred Hitchcock, English Director

51

"An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics."

"An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics."

Plutarch, Greek Philosopher

51

"Running those poor steers back and forth in the heat is ridiculous. What they ought to do is put the steers in the convention hall and run the delegates."

"Running those poor steers back and forth in the heat is ridiculous. What they ought to do is put the steers in the convention hall and run the delegates."

Stanley Marcus, American Businessman

49

"The poor peasant here hives under conditions quite different from those of Russia. Though often terrible, they are not as appalling as they were there."

"The poor peasant here hives under conditions quite different from those of Russia. Though often terrible, they are not as appalling as they were there."

Herman Gorter, Dutch Poet

48

"We have no right to luxuries while the poor want bread."

"We have no right to luxuries while the poor want bread."

Thomas Day, British Author

Poor, Right, Want

48

"He who bestows his goods upon the poor shall have as much again, and ten times more."

"He who bestows his goods upon the poor shall have as much again, and ten times more."

John Bunyan, English Clergyman

48

"You need massive recruitment to tell the poorest of the poor what is possible."

"You need massive recruitment to tell the poorest of the poor what is possible."

Jonathan Kozol, American Writer

47

"Whoever named it necking was a poor judge of anatomy."

"Whoever named it necking was a poor judge of anatomy."

Groucho Marx, American Comedian

47

"Remember, it's as easy to marry a rich woman as a poor woman."

"Remember, it's as easy to marry a rich woman as a poor woman."

William Makepeace Thackeray, English Novelist

47

"I'm not knocking the poor homosexual, I'm not. They need salvation just like anybody else."

"I'm not knocking the poor homosexual, I'm not. They need salvation just like anybody else."

Jimmy Swaggart, American Clergyman

Poor, Salvation

46

"The rich become richer and the poor become poorer is a cry heard throughout the whole civilized world."

"The rich become richer and the poor become poorer is a cry heard throughout the whole civilized world."

Friedrich Schiller, German Dramatist

46

"The poor wish to be rich, the rich wish to be happy, the single wish to be married, and the married wish to be dead."

"The poor wish to be rich, the rich wish to be happy, the single wish to be married, and the married wish to be dead."

Ann Landers, American Journalist

46

"Vexed sailors cursed the rain, for which poor shepherds prayed in vain."

"Vexed sailors cursed the rain, for which poor shepherds prayed in vain."

Edmund Waller, English Poet

45

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