--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you subsidize poverty and failure…" description: "\"When you subsidize poverty and failure, you get more of both.\" — James Dale Davidson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/james-dale-davidson-17912_economics_when-you-subsidize-poverty-and-failure-y_1670929.jpg" --- # When you subsidize poverty and failure, you get more of… ![“When you subsidize poverty and failure, you get more of both.” quote by James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/james-dale-davidson-17912_economics_when-you-subsidize-poverty-and-failure-y_1670929.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/james-dale-davidson-17912_economics_when-you-subsidize-poverty-and-failure-y_1670929.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/james-dale-davidson-17912_economics_when-you-subsidize-poverty-and-failure-y_1670929.jpg) > “When you subsidize poverty and failure, you get more of both.” [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Supporting poverty and failure creates a cycle that amplifies both. **In simple terms:** Aid can perpetuate problems. Key Takeaway Design assistance that promotes self‑sufficiency. Themes poverty policy dependency Mood critical strategic Type economic policy When to use this quote - government programs - charitable giving - education reform - micro‑finance Key Concepts social welfare theory economic incentives Questions to Reflect On - How can aid empower rather than enable? - What metrics assess program success? A Different Perspective Aid may be misdirected. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Freedom and liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-and-liberty/) [Freedom liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-liberty/) [Income tax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/income-tax/) [Libertarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libertarian/) [Libertarianism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libertarianism/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Poverty Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty-failure-736401/) [Subsidize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subsidize/) [Subsidize Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subsidize-poverty-859203/) ## Related quotes > [The politicians don't just want your money. They want your soul. They want you to be worn down by taxes until you are dependent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/the-politicians-don-t-just-want-your-money-they-want-your-soul-they-2/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) > [When you subsidise poverty and failure, you get more of both](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/when-you-subsidise-poverty-and-failure-you-get-more-of-both/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) > [We have already discovered the fact that fear is the chief reason for poverty and failure and misery that takes on a thousand different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/we-have-already-discovered-the-fact-that-fear-is-the-chief-reason-for/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [“Yet basically, libertarians are for freedom and liberty for individuals, while recognizing that in order to be free we must also be protected. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/yet-basically-libertarians-are-for-freedom-and-liberty-for/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are-2/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-opposed-to-any-form-of-tyranny-over-the-mind-of-man/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [For an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/for-an-unarmed-man-may-be-attacked-with-greater-confidence-than-an/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/crouch-down-and-lick-the-hands-which-feed-you-may-your-chains-sit/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-country-can-preserve-its-liberties-if-its-rulers-are-not-warned/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-will-be-of-little-avail-to-the-people-that-the-laws-are-made-by/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. Sometimes the law places the whole apparatus of judges, police, prisons and gendarmes at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/sometimes-the-law-defends-plunder-and-participates-in-it-sometimes/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [To hold Old Glory, a symbol of freedom and liberty to many around the world, not just in the United States, this one means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddy-alvarez/to-hold-old-glory-a-symbol-of-freedom-and-liberty-to-many-around-the/) [Eddy Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddy-alvarez/) > [There is no kind of freedom and liberty other than the kind which the market economy brings about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/there-is-no-kind-of-freedom-and-liberty-other-than-the-kind-which-the/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/freedom-and-liberty-lose-out-by-default-because-good-people-are-not/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## More by James Dale Davidson > [“Topographic conditions were the foundation of Greek democracy, just as those of a different kind gave rise to the Oriental despotisms of Egypt and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/topographic-conditions-were-the-foundation-of-greek-democracy-just-as/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) > [“When the payoff for organizing violence at a large scale tumbles, the payoff from violence at a smaller scale is likely to jump. Violence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/when-the-payoff-for-organizing-violence-at-a-large-scale-tumbles-the/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) > [“To dare a thought is to risk being wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/to-dare-a-thought-is-to-risk-being-wrong/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) > [“The more apparent it is that a system is nearing an end, the more reluctant people will be to adhere to its laws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/the-more-apparent-it-is-that-a-system-is-nearing-an-end-the-more/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) > [Place 5 percent to 10 percent of your total assets in gold bullion and selected gold and silver coins. No one knows with certainty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/place-5-percent-to-10-percent-of-your-total-assets-in-gold-bullion/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) > [“Faster than all but a few now imagine, microprocessing will subvert and destroy the nation-state, creating new forms of social organization in the process.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/faster-than-all-but-a-few-now-imagine-microprocessing-will-subvert/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) > [“Other things being equal, the more widely dispersed key technologies are, the more widely dispersed power will be, and the smaller the optimum scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/other-things-being-equal-the-more-widely-dispersed-key-technologies/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) > [America today has insufficient savings to finance both crucial investment and its consumption of imports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/america-today-has-insufficient-savings-to-finance-both-crucial/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) > [“Cultures are not matters of taste but systems of adaptation to specific circumstances that may prove irrelevant or even counterproductive in other settings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/cultures-are-not-matters-of-taste-but-systems-of-adaptation-to/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) > [“Market forces, not political majorities, will compel societies to reconfigure themselves in ways that public opinion will neither comprehend nor welcome.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/market-forces-not-political-majorities-will-compel-societies-to/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) > [“This tended to increase the size of societies because contests of violence more often than not were won by the larger group.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/this-tended-to-increase-the-size-of-societies-because-contests-of/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) > [“Governments will ultimately have little choice but to treat populations in territories they serve more like customers, and less in the easy that organized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/governments-will-ultimately-have-little-choice-but-to-treat/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) > [“Every social order incorporates among its key taboos the notion that people living in it should not think about how it will end and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/every-social-order-incorporates-among-its-key-taboos-the-notion-that/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) > [“Wherever farming took root, violence emerged as a more important feature of social life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/wherever-farming-took-root-violence-emerged-as-a-more-important/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) > [“With the advent of farming, human horizons expanded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/with-the-advent-of-farming-human-horizons-expanded/) [James Dale Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) [Explore all 36 James Dale Davidson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/) ## More Economics quotes > [Don't let's lose sight of what creates wealth. It is open markets, it is capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/don-t-let-s-lose-sight-of-what-creates-wealth-it-is-open-markets-it/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Our biggest challenge is to eliminate the popular perception that economists don't have anything useful to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zandi/our-biggest-challenge-is-to-eliminate-the-popular-perception-that/) [Mark Zandi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zandi/) > [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bond/advances-in-technology-will-continue-to-reach-far-into-every-sector/) [Christopher Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bond/) > [Our engagement through international economics, trade, these trade agreements, is vital and is linked to our national security. This is a lesson we learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-boustany/our-engagement-through-international-economics-trade-these-trade/) [Charles Boustany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-boustany/) > [“The free-market economy and globalisation process have brought about, in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, a sharp and sudden rise in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaakov-malkin/the-free-market-economy-and-globalisation-process-have-brought-about/) [Yaakov Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaakov-malkin/) > [“Everything economic science posits as given, that is, the range of dispositions of the economic agent which ground the illusion of the ahistorical universality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bourdieu/everything-economic-science-posits-as-given-that-is-the-range-of/) [Pierre Bourdieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bourdieu/) > [Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/politics-is-about-power-it-is-about-the-power-of-the-state-it-is/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) > [Having an economy that works for the 99% is achievable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winnie-byanyima/having-an-economy-that-works-for-the-99-is-achievable/) [Winnie Byanyima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winnie-byanyima/) > [“a select group of high-performing companies have managed to close the strategy-to-performance gap through better planning and execution. These companies—Barclays, Cisco Systems, Dow Chemical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mankins/a-select-group-of-high-performing-companies-have-managed-to-close-the/) [Michael C. Mankins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mankins/) > [The system of private property is the most important guaranty of freedom, not only for those who own property, but scarcely less for those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-system-of-private-property-is-the-most-important-guaranty-of/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Economists think about what people ought to do. Psychologists watch what they actually do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/economists-think-about-what-people-ought-to-do-psychologists-watch/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Economists have a singular method of procedure. There are only two kinds of institutions for them, artificial and natural. The institutions of feudalism are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/economists-have-a-singular-method-of-procedure-there-are-only-two/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [As the variable capital always stays in the hands of the capitalist in some form or other, it cannot be claimed in any way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-the-variable-capital-always-stays-in-the-hands-of-the-capitalist/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) [Browse all 7,788 Economics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you subsidize poverty and failure, you get more of both.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Dale Davidson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/when-you-subsidize-poverty-and-failure-you-get-more-of-both/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Economics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/when-you-subsidize-poverty-and-failure-you-get-more-of-both/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/james-dale-davidson-17912_economics_when-you-subsidize-poverty-and-failure-y_1670929.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/james-dale-davidson-17912_economics_when-you-subsidize-poverty-and-failure-y_1670929.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b38/james-dale-davidson-17912_economics_when-you-subsidize-poverty-and-failure-y_1670929.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you subsidize poverty and failure, you get more of both.” — James Dale Davidson", "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": "James Dale Davidson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dale-davidson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you subsidize poverty and failure,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/when-you-subsidize-poverty-and-failure-you-get-more-of-both/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dale-davidson/when-you-subsidize-poverty-and-failure-you-get-more-of-both/#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 } } ] } ```