--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There really are two Americas, one for…" description: "\"There really are two Americas, one for the grifter class and one for everybody else. In everybody-else land, the world of small businesses and wage-ear..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28c/matt-taibbi-2257_attention_there-really-are-two-americas-one-for-th_1937113.jpg" --- # There really are two Americas, one for the grifter class… ![“There really are two Americas, one for the grifter class and one for everybody else. In everybody-else land, the world of small businesses and wage-earning employees, the government is something to be avoided, an overwhelming, all-powerful entity whose attentions usually presage some kind of…” quote by Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28c/matt-taibbi-2257_attention_there-really-are-two-americas-one-for-th_1937113.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28c/matt-taibbi-2257_attention_there-really-are-two-americas-one-for-th_1937113.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28c/matt-taibbi-2257_attention_there-really-are-two-americas-one-for-th_1937113.jpg) > “There really are two Americas, one for the grifter class and one for everybody else. In everybody-else land, the world of small businesses and wage-earning employees, the government is something to be avoided, an overwhelming, all-powerful entity whose attentions usually presage some kind of financial setback, if not complete ruin. In the grifter world, however, government is a slavish lapdog that the financial companies that will be the major players in this book use as a tool for making money.” [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society is split: the elite exploit government for profit, while ordinary people see it as a threatening force. **In simple terms:** Two Americas: one sees government as a tool, the other as a threat. Key Takeaway Recognize differing views on power structures. Themes politics economics class government power Mood critical analytical skeptical Type political social commentary. When to use this quote - policy analysis - activism - business strategy - public discourse Key Concepts capitalism institutional critique social stratification Questions to Reflect On - How do your experiences shape your view of government? - What evidence supports each perspective? A Different Perspective Complex reality may blur these binary categories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Americas Grifter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americas-grifter-3065439/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Earning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earning/) [Employee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employee/) [Entity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entity/) [Financial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/financial/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Avoided](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-avoided-3065441/) [Grifter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grifter-634908/) [Grifter Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grifter-class-3065442/) [Grifter World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grifter-world-3065440/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land/) [Making money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-money/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Overwhelming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overwhelming/) [Player](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/player/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins/) [Setback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setback/) [Small business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-business/) [Small businesses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-businesses/) [Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [For the grifter, ripping people off is seldom the point. The grifter is an artiste who invests in the long con.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-weisberg/for-the-grifter-ripping-people-off-is-seldom-the-point-the-grifter-is/) [Jacob Weisberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-weisberg/) > [Donald Trump is an archetypal grifter. Using the presidency to promote your golf courses, hotels, and real estate business is grifting. So is getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-weisberg/donald-trump-is-an-archetypal-grifter-using-the-presidency-to-promote/) [Jacob Weisberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-weisberg/) > [No sense in being a grifter if it's the same as being a citizen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/no-sense-in-being-a-grifter-if-it-s-the-same-as-being-a-citizen/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [Where the grifter is shameless, the grafter shrinks from exposure, which could only endanger the racket. He is greedy but not creatively ambitious. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-weisberg/where-the-grifter-is-shameless-the-grafter-shrinks-from-exposure/) [Jacob Weisberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-weisberg/) > [Nearly everyone who chooses to work for Donald Trump is disreputable in one way or another; Ali Baba didn't find 40 wise men in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-weisberg/nearly-everyone-who-chooses-to-work-for-donald-trump-is-disreputable/) [Jacob Weisberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-weisberg/) > [A grifter's got an irresistible urge to be the guy who's wise. There's nothin' to whipping a fool. Hell, fools are made to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/a-grifter-s-got-an-irresistible-urge-to-be-the-guy-who-s-wise-there-s/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [New things have to experience difficulties and setbacks as they grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/new-things-have-to-experience-difficulties-and-setbacks-as-they-grow/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [You may be in a tough time but that setback is simply a setup for a greater comeback.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/you-may-be-in-a-tough-time-but-that-setback-is-simply-a-setup-for-a/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [The greatest thing about tomorrow is, I will be better than I am today...There is no such thing as a setback. The lessons I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiger-woods/the-greatest-thing-about-tomorrow-is-i-will-be-better-than-i-am-today/) [Tiger Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiger-woods/) > [A two-hour movie tends to be a plot-delivery device; you tend to have to introduce all the characters, say what the goal is, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-hawley/a-two-hour-movie-tends-to-be-a-plot-delivery-device-you-tend-to-have/) [Noah Hawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-hawley/) > [In 1953, the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh. The Eisenhower administration believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/in-1953-the-united-states-played-a-significant-role-in-orchestrating/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [Optimism boosts your energy and focuses your sights on reaching your goals, rather than wallowing in your setbacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/optimism-boosts-your-energy-and-focuses-your-sights-on-reaching-your/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [In our culture, we grow up thinking that failure is a terrible thing, that it's a setback, or worse, the end. Often it turns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-schwarzenegger/in-our-culture-we-grow-up-thinking-that-failure-is-a-terrible-thing/) [Katherine Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-schwarzenegger/) > [If you abide in the love of Christ, rooted in the faith, you will encounter, even amid setbacks and suffering, the source of true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/if-you-abide-in-the-love-of-christ-rooted-in-the-faith-you-will/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Every crucial experience can be regarded either as a setback, or the start of a wonderful new adventure, it depends on your perspective!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/every-crucial-experience-can-be-regarded-either-as-a-setback-or-the/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) ## More by Matt Taibbi > [ The Congressional Record will forever show that \[Obamacare\] was passed in a romper room of overgrown children seemingly barely old enough to keep from… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/the-congressional-record-will-forever-show-that-obamacare-was-passed/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [Sniper is a movie whose politics are so ludicrous and idiotic that under normal circumstances it would be beneath criticism. 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This is the mantra of the financial-crisis era, one that saw virtually every major bank and financial company on Wall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/nobody-goes-to-jail-this-is-the-mantra-of-the-financial-crisis-era/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [The basic scam in the Internet age is pretty easy even for the financially illiterate to grasp. It was as if banks like Goldman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/the-basic-scam-in-the-internet-age-is-pretty-easy-even-for-the/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [For the broadcast business to be successful, viewers need to be not merely interested in our political melodramas, they have to be in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/for-the-broadcast-business-to-be-successful-viewers-need-to-be-not/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [It's not a stretch to say the whole financial industry revolves around the compass point of the absolutely safe AAA rating. But the financial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/it-s-not-a-stretch-to-say-the-whole-financial-industry-revolves/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [You know what an effective deterrent to crime is? Jail! 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They're mad because a tiny group of crooks on Wall Street built themselves beach houses in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/people-aren-t-pissed-just-to-be-pissed-they-re-mad-because-a-tiny/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) [Explore all 175 Matt Taibbi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) ## 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. 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