Quotes About Poverty

They have one quilt and a piece of canvas for bedding. The sleeping arrangement is clever. Mother and father lie down together and two children lie between them. Then heading the other way, the other two children lie, the littler ones. If the mother and father sleep with their legs spread wide, there is room for the legs of the children.

In the wet hay of leaking barns babies were born to women who panted with pneumonia. And old people curled up in corners and died that way, so that the coroners could not straighten them. At night frantic men walked boldly to hen roosts and carried off the squawking chickens. If they were shot at, they did not run, but splashed sullenly away; and if they were hit, they sank tiredly in the mud.

In that day an educated rich man was acceptable. He might send his sons to college without comment, might wear a vest and white shirt and tie in the daytime of a weekday, might wear gloves and keep his nails clean. And since the lives and practices of rich men were mysterious, who knows what they could use or not use? But a poor man––what need had he for poetry or for painting or for music not fit for singing or dancing?

Once Adam had remarked on the quiet splendor of Lee's clothes, and Lee had grinned at him. "I have to do it," he said. "One must be very rich to dress as badly as you do. The poor are forced to dress well.

I hope we don't get in no more Hoovervilles,'' said

If you're in trouble or hurt or need—go to poor people. They're the only ones that'll help—the only ones.

Riches seem to come to the poor in spirit, the poor in interest and joy. To put it straight—the very rich are a poor bunch of bastards. He wondered if that were true. They acted that way sometimes. He

She started for the door, and when she reached it, she turned about. I'm learnin' one thing good, she said. Learnin' it all a time, ever' day. If you're in trouble or hurt or need—go to poor people. They're the only ones that'll help—the only ones.

Our people are good people; our people are kind people. Pray God some day kind people won't all be poor. Pray God some day a kid can eat.

he needs a million acres to make him feel rich, seems to me he needs it 'cause he feels awful poor inside hisself, and if he's poor in hisself, there ain't no million acres gonna make him feel rich, an' maybe he's disappointed that nothin' he can do'll make him feel rich—not rich like Mis' Wilson was when she give her tent when Grampa died.

A million people hungry, needing the fruit—and kerosene sprayed over the golden mountains.

How can you frighten a man whose hunger is not only in his own cramped stomach but in the wretched bellies of his children?

He wasn' doing nothin' against the law, Ma. I been thinkin' a hell of a lot, thinkin' about our people livin' like pigs, an' the good rich lan' layin' fallow, or maybe one fella with a million acres, while a hunderd thousan' good farmers is starvin'. An' I been wonderin' if all our folks got together an' yelled, like them fellas yelled, only a few of 'em at the Hooper ranch—

They were land-hungry, ill-armed hordes too, and the legions could not stop them. Slaughter and terror did not stop them. How can you frighten a man whose hunger is not only in his own cramped stomach but in the wretched belles of his children? You can't scare him--he has known a fear beyond every other.

You see a guy hurt, or somebody like Anderson smashed, or you see a cop ride down a Jew girl, an' you think, what the hell's the use of it. An' then you think of the millions starving, and it's all right again. It's worth it.

Boileau said that Kings, Gods, and Heroes only were fit subjects for literature. The writer can only write about what he admires. Present day kings aren't very inspiring, the gods are on a vacation, and about the only heroes left are the scientists and the poor. . . . And since our race admires gallantry, the writer will deal with it where he finds it. He finds it in the struggling poor now." —Steinbeck in a 1939 radio interview

La nostra gente è brava gente; la nostra gente è gente buona. Preghiamo il Signore che un giorno la gente buona non sarà più povera. Preghiamo il Signore che un giorno i bambini avranno tutti da mangiare. E le associazioni dei proprietari sapevano che un giorno quegli uomini avrebbero smesso di pregare. E sarebbe stata la fine.

I'm learnin' one thing good,'' she said. "Learnin' it all a time, ever' day. If you're in trouble or hurt or need—go to poor people. They're the only ones that'll help—the only ones.'' The

No hay espíritu más desprendido en el mundo que el de un pobre a quien de pronto favorece la fortuna.

What made 'em bad was they needed stuff.

It wasn't laziness if he was a rich man. Only the poor were lazy just as only the poor were ignorant. A rich man who didn't know anything was spoiled or independent.

As the six, in file, passed into the poorhouse proper they clicked off glances of disdain with industrial precision.

literacy is as vital as food, security, limiting population growth, and control of the environment. Education, after all, is the one issue that affects every other one. I think of it in the same way as dropping a pebble into a pond and getting a ripple effect. Educated people make more money and are more likely to escape poverty. Educated parents raise healthier children. ...The list goes on, just as ripples in a body of water emanate outward.

if we were lucky enough to be living a good life, we should recognize this gift and thank God for it by looking out for others who need our help in breaking out of the cycle of poverty.