Poor Quotes | Beyond Motive

top of page

Poor Quotes

"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

36

"The walls are the publishers of the poor."

"The walls are the publishers of the poor."

Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan Journalist

27

"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

16

"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

15

"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

11

"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

9

"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

9

"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

8

"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

8

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

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

August Wilson, American Playwright

7

"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

7

"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

7

"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

7

"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

7

"I decided, if I'm going to be poor and black and all, the least thing I'm going to do is to try and find out who I am. I created everything about me."

"I decided, if I'm going to be poor and black and all, the least thing I'm going to do is to try and find out who I am. I created everything about me."

Ornette Coleman, American Musician

7

"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

6

"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

6

"He who hesitates is poor."

"He who hesitates is poor."

Mel Brooks, American Comedian

6

"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

6

"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.

6

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

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

Willie Stargell, American Athlete

5

"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

5

"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

5

"We are not concerned with the very poor. They are unthinkable, and only to be approached by the statistician or the poet."

"We are not concerned with the very poor. They are unthinkable, and only to be approached by the statistician or the poet."

E. M. Forster, English Novelist

5

"Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor."

"Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor."

Samuel Johnson, English Author

5

"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

5

"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

4

"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

4

"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

4

"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

4

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

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

Alfred Hitchcock, English Director

4

"It is a poor sermon that gives no offense; that neither makes the hearer displeased with himself nor with the preacher."

"It is a poor sermon that gives no offense; that neither makes the hearer displeased with himself nor with the preacher."

George Whitefield, American Clergyman

4

"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

4

"Poor fellow, he suffers from files."

"Poor fellow, he suffers from files."

Aneurin Bevan, Welsh Politician

3

"Few, save the poor, feel for the poor."

"Few, save the poor, feel for the poor."

Letitia Landon, British Poet

3

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

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

Ray Manzarek, American Musician

3

"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

3

"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

3

"Excuse my scribbling, it is late, and I have a poor candle."

"Excuse my scribbling, it is late, and I have a poor candle."

Henri Rousseau, French Artist

3

"It is a sin to be poor."

"It is a sin to be poor."

Charles Fillmore, American Educator

3

"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

3

"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

3

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

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

Groucho Marx, American Comedian

3

"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

3

"He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has."

"He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has."

Henry Ward Beecher, American Clergyman

3

"The poor North has much to do with slavery. It staggers under its load and smarts under its lash."

"The poor North has much to do with slavery. It staggers under its load and smarts under its lash."

Gerrit Smith, American Politician

3

"I really wonder what gives us the right to wreck this poor planet of ours."

"I really wonder what gives us the right to wreck this poor planet of ours."

Kurt Vonnegut, American Author

Poor, Right, Wonder

3

"Riches are a good hand maiden, but a poor mistress."

"Riches are a good hand maiden, but a poor mistress."

Francis Bacon, English Philosopher

3

"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

3

"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

2

bottom of page