---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most people out there are just trying to…"
description: "\"Most people out there are just trying to keep their job and provide for their family. If climate change is now a once-in-a-mortgage problem, and if foo..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4c/david-titley-35236_attention_most-people-out-there-are-just-trying-to_2923225.jpg"
---

#  Most people out there are just trying to keep their job…

![“Most people out there are just trying to keep their job and provide for their family. If climate change is now a once-in-a-mortgage problem, and if food prices start to spike, people will pay attention.” quote by David Titley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4c/david-titley-35236_attention_most-people-out-there-are-just-trying-to_2923225.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4c/david-titley-35236_attention_most-people-out-there-are-just-trying-to_2923225.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4c/david-titley-35236_attention_most-people-out-there-are-just-trying-to_2923225.jpg)

> “Most people out there are just trying to keep their job and provide for their family. If climate change is now a once-in-a-mortgage problem, and if food prices start to spike, people will pay attention.”

[David Titley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-titley/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Economic pressures like climate change and food price spikes will drive public attention to policy solutions.

**In simple terms:** Economic stress forces climate focus.

Key Takeaway

Leverage economic concerns to promote climate action.

Themes

environment economics food security public policy

Mood

urgent pragmatic

Type

policy activist

When to use this quote

- Town hall meetings
- policy briefs
- media campaigns

Key Concepts

Climate change inflation family budgeting

Questions to Reflect On

- How to link climate action to immediate economic relief?
- What policies address both climate and cost of living?

A Different Perspective

Economic solutions may be short‑term, missing systemic change.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Climate change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-change/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/)

## Related quotes

> [ In some ways I think it \[the strike\] was important. I'm not sure that "worth it" is the right term, but it was important.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-allen-bernero/in-some-ways-i-think-it-the-strike-was-important-i-m-not-sure-that/)

[Edward Allen Bernero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-allen-bernero/)

> [While the surfeit of cheap calories that the U.S. food system has produced since the late 1970s may have taken food prices off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/while-the-surfeit-of-cheap-calories-that-the-u-s-food-system-has/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [We see the effects of climate change on food prices and in so many other ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominique-crenn/we-see-the-effects-of-climate-change-on-food-prices-and-in-so-many/)

[Dominique Crenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominique-crenn/)

> [When the commodities go up and the cost of transportation is going up, and the value of the dollar is going down, it's all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-catsimatidis/when-the-commodities-go-up-and-the-cost-of-transportation-is-going-up/)

[John Catsimatidis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-catsimatidis/)

> [The poverty line understates the true amount of poverty because it measures it as three times the breadbasket that a family needs, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/the-poverty-line-understates-the-true-amount-of-poverty-because-it/)

[Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/)

> [Pack snacks. Food prices once you pass through airport security or within blocks of a major tourist attraction can be double the price. Pack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-tans/pack-snacks-food-prices-once-you-pass-through-airport-security-or/)

[Gillian Tans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-tans/)

> [If commodity prices are no longer going up then food prices in the grocery store will no longer go up, at some point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-martin/if-commodity-prices-are-no-longer-going-up-then-food-prices-in-the/)

Matt Martin

> [It's the embrace of corn-based ethanol that has driven up all food prices. It's not making agriculture more sustainable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/it-s-the-embrace-of-corn-based-ethanol-that-has-driven-up-all-food/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [When you have weird policy decisions in the United States that then ripple out throughout the world, the rest of the world really takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/when-you-have-weird-policy-decisions-in-the-united-states-that-then/)

[Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/)

> [When food prices surge, poor families suddenly find themselves unable to afford enough nutritious food. If this happens during the first thousand days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/when-food-prices-surge-poor-families-suddenly-find-themselves-unable/)

[Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/)

> [The world is only one poor harvest away from chaos. We are so close to the edge that politically destabilising food prices could come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-zoellick/the-world-is-only-one-poor-harvest-away-from-chaos-we-are-so-close-to/)

[Robert Zoellick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-zoellick/)

> [Just about the time when my income gets to the point where food prices don't matter, calories do!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-about-the-time-when-my-income-gets-to-the-point-where-food/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Increased tariffs and a weakened pound would mean higher food prices, hurting the poorest families - and the women trying to make ends meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konnie-huq/increased-tariffs-and-a-weakened-pound-would-mean-higher-food-prices/)

[Konnie Huq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konnie-huq/)

> [If you're using first-class land for biofuels, then you're competing with the growing of food. And so you're actually spiking food prices by moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/if-you-re-using-first-class-land-for-biofuels-then-you-re-competing/)

[Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/)

> [Food prices are often kept artificially high. The result is that the Millennium Development Goals set out by the United Nations at the start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/food-prices-are-often-kept-artificially-high-the-result-is-that-the/)

[Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/)

## More by David Titley

> [Politicians have responsibility to act if the public opinion changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/politicians-have-responsibility-to-act-if-the-public-opinion-changes/)

[David Titley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-titley/)

> [Climate change isn't just an environmental issue; it's a technology, water, food, energy, population issue. None of this happens in a vacuum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/climate-change-isn-t-just-an-environmental-issue-it-s-a-technology/)

[David Titley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-titley/)

> [When we talk about climate, we need to do everything we can to set the stage before the actors come on. And they may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/when-we-talk-about-climate-we-need-to-do-everything-we-can-to-set-the/)

[David Titley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-titley/)

> [People working on climate change should prepare for catastrophic success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/people-working-on-climate-change-should-prepare-for-catastrophic/)

[David Titley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-titley/)

> [You get a series of super-typhoons into Shanghai and millions of people die. Does the population there lose faith in Chinese government? Does China…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/you-get-a-series-of-super-typhoons-into-shanghai-and-millions-of/)

[David Titley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-titley/)

> [I like to think of climate action as a three-legged stool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/i-like-to-think-of-climate-action-as-a-three-legged-stool/)

[David Titley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-titley/)

> [If you start getting instability in large powers with nuclear weapons, that's not a good day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/if-you-start-getting-instability-in-large-powers-with-nuclear-weapons/)

[David Titley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-titley/)

> [Unfortunately, there's a lot of people in high places who understand the science but don't like where the policy leads them: too much government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/unfortunately-there-s-a-lot-of-people-in-high-places-who-understand/)

[David Titley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-titley/)

> [We need to start prioritizing people, not polar bears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/we-need-to-start-prioritizing-people-not-polar-bears/)

[David Titley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-titley/)

> [I see climate change as one of the driving forces in the 21st century. With modern technology and globalization, we are much more connected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/i-see-climate-change-as-one-of-the-driving-forces-in-the-21st-century/)

[David Titley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-titley/)

> [We need to start prioritizing people, not polar bears. We're probably less adaptable than them, anyway. The farther you are from the Beltway, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/we-need-to-start-prioritizing-people-not-polar-bears-we-re-probably/)

[David Titley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-titley/)

> [Politicians have responsibility to act if the public opinion changes. Flooding, storms, droughts are all getting people talking about climate change. I wonder if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/politicians-have-responsibility-to-act-if-the-public-opinion-changes-2/)

[David Titley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-titley/)

[Explore all 13 David Titley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-titley/)

## More Attention quotes

> [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/)

[David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/)

> [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/)

[Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/)

> [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/)

[Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/)

[Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/)

> [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/)

[Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/)

> [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/)

[Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/)

> [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/)

[Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/)

> [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/)

[Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/)

> [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/)

[Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/)

> [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/)

[Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/)

> [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/)

[Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/)

> [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/)

[Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/)

[Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Most people out there are just trying to keep their job and provide for their family. If climate change is now a once-in-a-mortgage problem, and if food prices start to spike, people will pay attention.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "David Titley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/most-people-out-there-are-just-trying-to-keep-their-job-and-provide/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Attention"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/most-people-out-there-are-just-trying-to-keep-their-job-and-provide/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4c/david-titley-35236_attention_most-people-out-there-are-just-trying-to_2923225.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4c/david-titley-35236_attention_most-people-out-there-are-just-trying-to_2923225.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4c/david-titley-35236_attention_most-people-out-there-are-just-trying-to_2923225.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Most people out there are just trying to keep their job and provide for their family. If climate change is…” — David Titley",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "David Titley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-titley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Most people out there are just...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/most-people-out-there-are-just-trying-to-keep-their-job-and-provide/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-titley/most-people-out-there-are-just-trying-to-keep-their-job-and-provide/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
