--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We work harder and we earn less. Income…" description: "\"We work harder and we earn less. Income inequality is at the highest point in over a century. While American capitalism never guaranteed success, it di..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/565/mario-cuomo-4807_american-capitalism_we-work-harder-and-we-earn-less-income-i_1483328.png" --- # We work harder and we earn less. Income inequality is at… ![“We work harder and we earn less. Income inequality is at the highest point in over a century. While American capitalism never guaranteed success, it did guarantee opportunity, for too many, the dream of economic mobility has been replaced with a nightmare of economic stagnation.” quote by Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/565/mario-cuomo-4807_american-capitalism_we-work-harder-and-we-earn-less-income-i_1483328.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/565/mario-cuomo-4807_american-capitalism_we-work-harder-and-we-earn-less-income-i_1483328.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/565/mario-cuomo-4807_american-capitalism_we-work-harder-and-we-earn-less-income-i_1483328.png) > “We work harder and we earn less. Income inequality is at the highest point in over a century. While American capitalism never guaranteed success, it did guarantee opportunity, for too many, the dream of economic mobility has been replaced with a nightmare of economic stagnation.” [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Economic disparity peaks, turning the promise of upward mobility into stagnation for many. **In simple terms:** Inequality is at a historic high. Key Takeaway Address systemic barriers to mobility. Themes inequality mobility policy Mood urgent concerned Type political motivational When to use this quote - policy debates - community organizing - education reform Key Concepts Structural inequality economic stagnation Questions to Reflect On - What policies could reduce this gap? - How can individuals influence systemic change? A Different Perspective Solutions require political will and public support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-capitalism/) [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic/) [Economic Mobility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-mobility-1238673/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Guarantees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guarantees/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Harder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harder/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highest/) [Income](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/income/) [Income inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/income-inequality/) [Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality/) [Inequality Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality-highest-5410793/) [Mobility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mobility/) [Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmare/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Replaced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/replaced/) [Stagnation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stagnation/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Work harder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-harder/) ## Related quotes > [For too many, the dream of economic mobility has been replaced with a nightmare of economic stagnation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/for-too-many-the-dream-of-economic-mobility-has-been-replaced-with-a/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [Economic mobility will fix income inequality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sestak/economic-mobility-will-fix-income-inequality/) [Joe Sestak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sestak/) > [Indias rigid social structure limits intergenerational economic mobility and fosters acceptance of vast wealth disparities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rattner/indias-rigid-social-structure-limits-intergenerational-economic/) [Steven Rattner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rattner/) > [India's rigid social structure limits intergenerational economic mobility and fosters acceptance of vast wealth disparities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rattner/india-s-rigid-social-structure-limits-intergenerational-economic/) [Steven Rattner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rattner/) > [People need physical mobility in order to have upward economic mobility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-warnock/people-need-physical-mobility-in-order-to-have-upward-economic/) [Raphael Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-warnock/) > [The difference between rich and poor is becoming more extreme, and as income inequality widens the wealth gap in major nations, education, health and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-d-gayle/the-difference-between-rich-and-poor-is-becoming-more-extreme-and-as/) [Helene D. Gayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-d-gayle/) > [Income inequality and wage stagnation finally took their place among the principal moral issues of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rolf/income-inequality-and-wage-stagnation-finally-took-their-place-among/) [David Rolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rolf/) > [If one sentence were to sum up the mechanism driving the Great Stagnation, it is this: Recent and current innovation is more geared to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/if-one-sentence-were-to-sum-up-the-mechanism-driving-the-great/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [There are two economic realities in America in 2016. There's been a record six straight years of job growth, and new census numbers show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-holt/there-are-two-economic-realities-in-america-in-2016-there-s-been-a/) [Lester Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-holt/) > [“The United States, which idealized itself as a classless society in which everyone had the opportunity to get ahead, had in fact fallen behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/the-united-states-which-idealized-itself-as-a-classless-society-in/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [I believe that education offers the fastest route to economic mobility. I grew up with a family of strong, accomplished, and educated women. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-longoria/i-believe-that-education-offers-the-fastest-route-to-economic/) [Eva Longoria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-longoria/) > [A basic element of the American dream is equal access to education as the lubricant of social and economic mobility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kristof/a-basic-element-of-the-american-dream-is-equal-access-to-education-as/) [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) > [The West, in the form of American capitalism, is seen as having won, but people are beginning to offer alternatives again, sometimes in retrograde…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-mahajan/the-west-in-the-form-of-american-capitalism-is-seen-as-having-won-but/) [Karan Mahajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-mahajan/) > [The moral spectacle of capitalism still offends, as does American capitalism's implacable insistence that the market determine value even in the political, intellectual, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-pfaff/the-moral-spectacle-of-capitalism-still-offends-as-does-american/) [William Pfaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-pfaff/) > [The American capitalists are richer and stronger than their counterparts in other lands. They are also younger and more ignorant, and therefore more inclined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-cannon/the-american-capitalists-are-richer-and-stronger-than-their/) [James P. Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-cannon/) ## More by Mario Cuomo > [There is a respectable body of economic thought that holds that casino gambling is actually economically regressive to a state and a community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/there-is-a-respectable-body-of-economic-thought-that-holds-that/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [We believe in a government that is characterized by fairness and reasonableness, a reasonableness that goes beyond labels, that doesn't distort or promise to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/we-believe-in-a-government-that-is-characterized-by-fairness-and/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [America was born in outrageous ambition, so bold as to be improbable. The deprived, the oppressed, the powerless from all over the globe came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/america-was-born-in-outrageous-ambition-so-bold-as-to-be-improbable/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [The biggest aggravation in the Arab world, the biggest reason for their anger toward us and the creation of those suicide terrorists, is Israel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/the-biggest-aggravation-in-the-arab-world-the-biggest-reason-for/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [Nobody has ever gotten a bigger push than Bill Clinton gave to Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/nobody-has-ever-gotten-a-bigger-push-than-bill-clinton-gave-to-obama/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [It is not a government's obligation to provide services, but to see that they are provided.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/it-is-not-a-government-s-obligation-to-provide-services-but-to-see/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [My favorite thought about Abraham Lincoln is he believed in two things: loving one another and working together to make this world better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/my-favorite-thought-about-abraham-lincoln-is-he-believed-in-two/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [9/11 occurs, and you're going to rebuild, and after awhile, the memory will be there, but there will be something new there, and different,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/9-11-occurs-and-you-re-going-to-rebuild-and-after-awhile-the-memory/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [The Mafia is a question every time an Italian raises his head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/the-mafia-is-a-question-every-time-an-italian-raises-his-head/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [People asked me what I want as an epitaph: 'He tried'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/people-asked-me-what-i-want-as-an-epitaph-he-tried/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [I had not even thought of running for president until one day in 1991, at a small fund-raiser, completely unanticipated, someone stood up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/i-had-not-even-thought-of-running-for-president-until-one-day-in-1991/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [I protect my right to be a Catholic by preserving your right to believe as a Jew, a Protestant, or non-believer, or as anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/i-protect-my-right-to-be-a-catholic-by-preserving-your-right-to/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [I love immigrants. Legal, illegal - they're not to be despised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/i-love-immigrants-legal-illegal-they-re-not-to-be-despised/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [Barack Obama is probably one of the brightest in terms of sheer intelligence... also probably the best orator we've ever had as a president.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/barack-obama-is-probably-one-of-the-brightest-in-terms-of-sheer/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [The American people need no course in philosophy or political science of church history to know that God should not be made into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/the-american-people-need-no-course-in-philosophy-or-political-science/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) [Explore all 105 Mario Cuomo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) ## More American capitalism quotes > [The American capitalists are richer and stronger than their counterparts in other lands. They are also younger and more ignorant, and therefore more inclined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-cannon/the-american-capitalists-are-richer-and-stronger-than-their/) [James P. Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-cannon/) > [The moral spectacle of capitalism still offends, as does American capitalism's implacable insistence that the market determine value even in the political, intellectual, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-pfaff/the-moral-spectacle-of-capitalism-still-offends-as-does-american/) [William Pfaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-pfaff/) > [The West, in the form of American capitalism, is seen as having won, but people are beginning to offer alternatives again, sometimes in retrograde…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-mahajan/the-west-in-the-form-of-american-capitalism-is-seen-as-having-won-but/) [Karan Mahajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-mahajan/) > [If you're going to dedicate your career to ranting about the excesses of American capitalism, you probably shouldn't weigh 450 pounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-giraldo/if-you-re-going-to-dedicate-your-career-to-ranting-about-the-excesses/) [Greg Giraldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-giraldo/) > [“The overall U.S. homeownership rate increased from 64 percent in 1994 to a peak in 2004 with an all-time high of 69.2 percent. Real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilad-atzmon/the-overall-u-s-homeownership-rate-increased-from-64-percent-in-1994/) [Gilad Atzmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilad-atzmon/) > [ Speaking as a New Yorker, I found it a shocking and terrifying event \[9/11\], particularly the scale of it. At bottom, it was an… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/speaking-as-a-new-yorker-i-found-it-a-shocking-and-terrifying-event-9/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Buffett's uncommon urge to chronicle made him a unique character in American life, not only a great capitalist but the Great Explainer of American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-lowenstein/buffett-s-uncommon-urge-to-chronicle-made-him-a-unique-character-in/) [Roger Lowenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-lowenstein/) > [American capitalism has been both overpraised and overindicted. It is neither the Plumed Knight nor the monstrous Robber Baron.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lerner/american-capitalism-has-been-both-overpraised-and-overindicted-it-is/) [Max Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lerner/) > [I think the most important factor in getting out of the recession actually is just the regenerative capacity of - of American capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/i-think-the-most-important-factor-in-getting-out-of-the-recession/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [The lifeblood of the economy is that the banking community is a circulatory system for American capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-scaramucci/the-lifeblood-of-the-economy-is-that-the-banking-community-is-a/) [Anthony Scaramucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-scaramucci/) > [Sharia has become an increasingly significant force in American capitalism, thanks to the embrace by Wall Street and the U.S. government of so-called Sharia-Compliant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gaffney/sharia-has-become-an-increasingly-significant-force-in-american/) [Frank Gaffney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gaffney/) > [It's a sad day for American Capitalism when a man can't fly a midget on a kite over central park.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-moran/it-s-a-sad-day-for-american-capitalism-when-a-man-can-t-fly-a-midget/) [Jim Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-moran/) > [The advantage of the free market system is that people invest their capital, they create jobs by investing their capital, and hopefully they get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-stivers/the-advantage-of-the-free-market-system-is-that-people-invest-their/) [Steve Stivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-stivers/) > [“American capitalism replaced some of the old colonial capitalisms in the countries that began their independent life. But it knows that this is transitory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/american-capitalism-replaced-some-of-the-old-colonial-capitalisms-in/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [“Most every charge you level at American capitalism applies with equal force to communism, with this nice difference, that the Reds make no pretense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/most-every-charge-you-level-at-american-capitalism-applies-with-equal/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Browse all 30 American capitalism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-capitalism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We work harder and we earn less. Income inequality is at the highest point in over a century. 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