---
title: "1 Influence Public Quotes By Matthew Desmond"
description: "1 Influence Public quotes by Matthew Desmond. Plus more from Matthew Desmond and more Influence Public sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/matthew-desmond-1529_bear_i-want-my-work-to-influence-public-conve_547370.jpg"
---

> [I want my work to influence public conversation, to turn heads, and to bear witness to this problem that's raging in our cities. If journalism helps me with that, I'll draw on journalism... and I'm not going to worry too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-want-my-work-to-influence-public-conversation-to-turn-heads-and-to/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/matthew-desmond-1529_bear_i-want-my-work-to-influence-public-conve_547370.jpg)

## More by Matthew Desmond

> [I don't think we can fix poverty without fixing housing, and I don't think we can address housing without understanding landlords.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-don-t-think-we-can-fix-poverty-without-fixing-housing-and-i-don-t/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [If we continue to tolerate this level of poverty in our cities, and go along with eviction as commonplace in poor neighborhoods, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/if-we-continue-to-tolerate-this-level-of-poverty-in-our-cities-and-go/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [You see one eviction, and you're overcome, but then there's another one and another one and another one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/you-see-one-eviction-and-you-re-overcome-but-then-there-s-another-one/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [When I talk to booksellers, they tell me how hard it is to hand-sell some of my books because I do keep popping around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/when-i-talk-to-booksellers-they-tell-me-how-hard-it-is-to-hand-sell/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [Housing being a top-order issue for cities is something that's not trivial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/housing-being-a-top-order-issue-for-cities-is-something-that-s-not/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [I think that we value fairness in this country. We value equal opportunity. Without a stable home, those ideals really fall apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-think-that-we-value-fairness-in-this-country-we-value-equal/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [Exploitation. Now, there's a word that has been scrubbed out of the poverty debate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/exploitation-now-there-s-a-word-that-has-been-scrubbed-out-of-the/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [I think there are ways that graduate students can fact-check their work. I think there are ways that we can do this that don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-think-there-are-ways-that-graduate-students-can-fact-check-their/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [Fire itself is very beautiful, and there's an attachment to fire that firefighters have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/fire-itself-is-very-beautiful-and-there-s-an-attachment-to-fire-that/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [“Sherrena nodded reassuringly and said, almost to herself, “I guess I got to stop feeling sorry for these people because nobody is feeling sorry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/sherrena-nodded-reassuringly-and-said-almost-to-herself-i-guess-i-got/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [Everywhere else, we are someone else, but at home, we remove our masks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/everywhere-else-we-are-someone-else-but-at-home-we-remove-our-masks/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [A community that sees so clearly its own disadvantage or its own hardships also has a harder time seeing its potential: its ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/a-community-that-sees-so-clearly-its-own-disadvantage-or-its-own/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [“It was once said that the poor are 'constantly exposed to evidence of their own irrelevance.' Especially for poor African-American families - who live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/it-was-once-said-that-the-poor-are-constantly-exposed-to-evidence-of/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [A universal voucher program would change the face of poverty in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/a-universal-voucher-program-would-change-the-face-of-poverty-in-this/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [“Wildland firefighters do not enjoy the cultural prestige that structural firefighters do. They do not wax their fire engines and cruise down the local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/wildland-firefighters-do-not-enjoy-the-cultural-prestige-that/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

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