Poor Quotes | Beyond Motive

top of page

Poor Quotes

"The walls are the publishers of the poor."

"The walls are the publishers of the poor."

Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan Journalist

171

"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

131

"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.

101

"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

92

"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

67

"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

66

"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

64

"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

61

"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

56

"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

56

"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

55

"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

54

"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

53

"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

53

"It is a sin to be poor."

"It is a sin to be poor."

Charles Fillmore, American Educator

50

"He who hesitates is poor."

"He who hesitates is poor."

Mel Brooks, American Comedian

49

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

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

Ray Manzarek, American Musician

48

"And plenty makes us poor."

"And plenty makes us poor."

John Dryden, English Poet

48

"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

48

"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

48

"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

47

"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

46

"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

46

"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

46

"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

46

"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

45

"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

43

"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

43

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

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

Thomas Middleton, English Poet

43

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

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

Willie Stargell, American Athlete

42

"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

42

"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

42

"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

42

"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

41

"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

41

"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

41

"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

40

"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

40

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

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

August Wilson, American Playwright

39

"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

39

"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

39

"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

39

"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

39

"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

38

"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

38

"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

37

"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

36

"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

36

"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

36

"To be rich nowadays merely means to possess a large number of poor objects."

"To be rich nowadays merely means to possess a large number of poor objects."

Raoul Vaneigem, Belgian Philosopher

36

bottom of page