--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Global poverty is the product of…" description: "\"Global poverty is the product of reversible policy failures overseen by politicians, past and present. The poorest of the poor don't vote in American o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/hugh-evans-46727_american_global-poverty-is-the-product-of-reversi_9233.jpg" --- # Global poverty is the product of reversible policy… ![“Global poverty is the product of reversible policy failures overseen by politicians, past and present. The poorest of the poor don't vote in American or European elections. They don't make donations to political parties or hire lobbyists in D.C., London or Canberra.” quote by Hugh Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/hugh-evans-46727_american_global-poverty-is-the-product-of-reversi_9233.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/hugh-evans-46727_american_global-poverty-is-the-product-of-reversi_9233.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/hugh-evans-46727_american_global-poverty-is-the-product-of-reversi_9233.jpg) > “Global poverty is the product of reversible policy failures overseen by politicians, past and present. The poorest of the poor don't vote in American or European elections. They don't make donations to political parties or hire lobbyists in D.C., London or Canberra.” [Hugh Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-evans/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poverty persists because policies that could alleviate it are deliberately or negligently undone by political leaders, while the most affected lack political influence. **In simple terms:** Policy failures keep the poor poor. Key Takeaway Powerless voters can't shape policies that affect them. Themes political economy inequality policy design civic disengagement global poverty Mood concerned critical urgent Type political statement social critique call to action When to use this quote - advocacy for voting rights - NGO lobbying for anti‑poverty legislation - academic analysis of welfare policy - media commentary on political accountability Key Concepts policy failure political power voter disenfranchisement economic inequality Practical Applications - designing inclusive policy reforms - building political participation mechanisms for marginalized groups Questions to Reflect On - How can political systems become accountable to those without a vote? - What policy changes would most quickly reduce poverty? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [Donations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/donations/) [Elections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elections/) [European](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/european/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failures/) [Global](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/global/) [Global poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/global-poverty/) [Hire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hire/) [Lobbyists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lobbyists/) [London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Parties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parties/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past and present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-and-present/) [Policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political parties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-parties/) [Politicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politicians/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Poorest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poorest/) [Poorest Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poorest-poor-350669/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Poverty Product](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty-product-350670/) [Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present/) [Present Poorest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-poorest-350668/) [Product](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/product/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) ## Related quotes > [For many food poverty is the product of a toxic combination of low wages, austerity economics, spiralling food prices and lengthy delays to benefit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciana-berger/for-many-food-poverty-is-the-product-of-a-toxic-combination-of-low/) [Luciana Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciana-berger/) > [I've made it clear that I'm not taking special interest PAC money or accepting donations from lobbyists - ever. I want to represent the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-pagliuca/i-ve-made-it-clear-that-i-m-not-taking-special-interest-pac-money-or/) [Stephen Pagliuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-pagliuca/) > [The Global Poverty Project's mission is to stand up for the world's poorest people. We fight for the full funding of Millennium Development Goals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/the-global-poverty-project-s-mission-is-to-stand-up-for-the-world-s/) [Hugh Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-evans/) > [The poorest of the poor are those who feel that they are unloved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/the-poorest-of-the-poor-are-those-who-feel-that-they-are-unloved/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Any country that accepts abortion is the poorest of the poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/any-country-that-accepts-abortion-is-the-poorest-of-the-poor/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Whether we are poor among the poorest, or less poor among the wealthier, let us stand proud and noteworthy, united and strong, comforted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-kerekou/whether-we-are-poor-among-the-poorest-or-less-poor-among-the/) [Mathieu Kerekou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-kerekou/) > [We continue to blame the poor for their own condition. They are lazy. We do not want to know that the poorest of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/we-continue-to-blame-the-poor-for-their-own-condition-they-are-lazy/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [You need massive recruitment to tell the poorest of the poor what is possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/you-need-massive-recruitment-to-tell-the-poorest-of-the-poor-what-is/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [Jesus was the poorest of the poor. Roman Catholicism, which claims to be His church, is the richest of the rich, the wealthiest institution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avro-manhattan/jesus-was-the-poorest-of-the-poor-roman-catholicism-which-claims-to/) [Avro Manhattan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avro-manhattan/) > [I think that the poorest of the poor... look up to wealthy and successful Indians with some degree of respect and pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-mallya/i-think-that-the-poorest-of-the-poor-look-up-to-wealthy-and/) [Vijay Mallya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-mallya/) > [“Capitalism – which in its purest form is entrepreneurism even among the poorest of the poor – does work; but those who make money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/capitalism-which-in-its-purest-form-is-entrepreneurism-even-among-the/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [In the poorest of the poor we see Jesus in distressed guise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/in-the-poorest-of-the-poor-we-see-jesus-in-distressed-guise/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [“If you have a poverty of heart then you are the poorest among the poor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/if-you-have-a-poverty-of-heart-then-you-are-the-poorest-among-the-poor/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [At the most basic level, the key to ending extreme poverty is to enable the poorest of the poor to get their foot on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-sachs/at-the-most-basic-level-the-key-to-ending-extreme-poverty-is-to/) [Jeffrey Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-sachs/) > [Because there is global insecurity, nations are engaged in a mad arms race, spending billions of dollars wastefully on instruments of destruction, when millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/because-there-is-global-insecurity-nations-are-engaged-in-a-mad-arms/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## More by Hugh Evans > [History shows that all protest movements rely on symbols - boycotts, strikes, sit-ins, flags, songs. Symbolic action on whatever scale - from the Montgomery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/history-shows-that-all-protest-movements-rely-on-symbols-boycotts/) [Hugh Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-evans/) > [Live Below the Line raises real money to help the world's poorest people, but it is also a symbolic demonstration aimed at highlighting -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/live-below-the-line-raises-real-money-to-help-the-world-s-poorest/) [Hugh Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-evans/) > [I really consider my goal is that, wherever I am in life, I want to be a social advocate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/i-really-consider-my-goal-is-that-wherever-i-am-in-life-i-want-to-be/) [Hugh Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-evans/) > [People don't need to become more aware of poverty—they need to know how to end it,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/people-don-t-need-to-become-more-aware-of-poverty-they-need-to-know/) [Hugh Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-evans/) > [When I was 13, I did become a Christian. And so it was when I was 13, that I thought... I just... I really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/when-i-was-13-i-did-become-a-christian-and-so-it-was-when-i-was-13/) [Hugh Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-evans/) > [The Global Poverty Project's mission is to stand up for the world's poorest people. We fight for the full funding of Millennium Development Goals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/the-global-poverty-project-s-mission-is-to-stand-up-for-the-world-s/) [Hugh Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-evans/) > [America has a critical place to play in the end of extreme poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/america-has-a-critical-place-to-play-in-the-end-of-extreme-poverty/) [Hugh Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-evans/) [Explore all 8 Hugh Evans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-evans/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) [Browse all 7,717 American quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Global poverty is the product of reversible policy failures overseen by politicians, past and present. The poorest of the poor don't vote in American or European elections. They don't make donations to political parties or hire lobbyists in D.C., London or Canberra.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hugh Evans" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/global-poverty-is-the-product-of-reversible-policy-failures-overseen/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/global-poverty-is-the-product-of-reversible-policy-failures-overseen/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/hugh-evans-46727_american_global-poverty-is-the-product-of-reversi_9233.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/hugh-evans-46727_american_global-poverty-is-the-product-of-reversi_9233.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/hugh-evans-46727_american_global-poverty-is-the-product-of-reversi_9233.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Global poverty is the product of reversible policy failures overseen by politicians, past and present. The…” — Hugh Evans", "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": "Hugh Evans", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-evans/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Global poverty is the product of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/global-poverty-is-the-product-of-reversible-policy-failures-overseen/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/global-poverty-is-the-product-of-reversible-policy-failures-overseen/#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 } } ] } ```