--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Poverty is two-faced—a matter of income…" description: "\"“Poverty is two-faced—a matter of income and expenses, input and output—and in a world of exploitation, it will not be effectively ameliorated if we ig..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/matthew-desmond-1529_exploitation_poverty-is-two-faced-a-matter-of-income_2607208.jpg" --- # Poverty is two-faced—a matter of income and expenses… ![“Poverty is two-faced—a matter of income and expenses, input and output—and in a world of exploitation, it will not be effectively ameliorated if we ignore this plain fact. History” quote by Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/matthew-desmond-1529_exploitation_poverty-is-two-faced-a-matter-of-income_2607208.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/matthew-desmond-1529_exploitation_poverty-is-two-faced-a-matter-of-income_2607208.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/matthew-desmond-1529_exploitation_poverty-is-two-faced-a-matter-of-income_2607208.jpg) > ““Poverty is two-faced—a matter of income and expenses, input and output—and in a world of exploitation, it will not be effectively ameliorated if we ignore this plain fact. History”” [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poverty involves both low income and high expenses, and ignoring this duality hampers effective solutions in exploitative systems. **In simple terms:** Poverty is income and expense problem. Key Takeaway Address both earnings and costs. Themes poverty economics inequality Mood concerned critical Type analytical social When to use this quote - policy design - social programs - financial literacy - community advocacy Key Concepts dualism structural analysis Questions to Reflect On - How can policies balance income and expense? - What structural changes reduce exploitation? A Different Perspective Ignoring one side leaves solutions incomplete. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exploitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploitation/) [Exploitation Effectively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploitation-effectively-1996048/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Poverty Faced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty-faced-1996046/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [World Exploitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-exploitation-1996047/) ## Related quotes > [Many great composers have died in poverty. I have not faced hardships, like having to struggle for food, thanks to reasonable producers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilaiyaraaja/many-great-composers-have-died-in-poverty-i-have-not-faced-hardships/) [Ilaiyaraaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilaiyaraaja/) > [Exploitation. Now, there's a word that has been scrubbed out of the poverty debate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/exploitation-now-there-s-a-word-that-has-been-scrubbed-out-of-the/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [“Exploitation thrives when it comes to the essentials, like housing and food. Most of the 12 million Americans who take out high-interest payday loans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/exploitation-thrives-when-it-comes-to-the-essentials-like-housing-and/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [If we continue to tolerate this level of poverty in our cities, and go along with eviction as commonplace in poor neighborhoods, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/if-we-continue-to-tolerate-this-level-of-poverty-in-our-cities-and-go/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [I don't think we can fix poverty without fixing housing, and I don't think we can address housing without understanding landlords.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-don-t-think-we-can-fix-poverty-without-fixing-housing-and-i-don-t/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [No matter how well-born, how intelligent, how highly educated, how virtuous, how rich, how refined, the women of to-day constitutea political class below that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-corinna-putnam-jacobi/no-matter-how-well-born-how-intelligent-how-highly-educated-how/) [Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-corinna-putnam-jacobi/) > [24.9 percent of American children live in poverty, while the proportions in Germany, France and Italy are 8.6, 7.4 and 10.5 percent. And once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hutton/24-9-percent-of-american-children-live-in-poverty-while-the/) [Will Hutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hutton/) > [You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-h-boetcker/you-cannot-help-the-poor-by-destroying-the-rich/) [William J. H. Boetcker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-h-boetcker/) > [When you are poor, you'll have to think of ways to be better off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zong-qinghou/when-you-are-poor-you-ll-have-to-think-of-ways-to-be-better-off/) [Zong Qinghou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zong-qinghou/) > [There are no causes of poverty. It is the rest state, that which happens when you don't do anything. If you want to experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madsen-pirie/there-are-no-causes-of-poverty-it-is-the-rest-state-that-which/) [Madsen Pirie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madsen-pirie/) > [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Every one is weary, the poore in seeking, the rich in keeping, the good in learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/every-one-is-weary-the-poore-in-seeking-the-rich-in-keeping-the-good/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Poor people do not go on holiday; they go home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/poor-people-do-not-go-on-holiday-they-go-home/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## More by Matthew Desmond > [I don't think we can fix poverty without fixing housing, and I don't think we can address housing without understanding landlords.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-don-t-think-we-can-fix-poverty-without-fixing-housing-and-i-don-t/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [If we continue to tolerate this level of poverty in our cities, and go along with eviction as commonplace in poor neighborhoods, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/if-we-continue-to-tolerate-this-level-of-poverty-in-our-cities-and-go/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [You see one eviction, and you're overcome, but then there's another one and another one and another one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/you-see-one-eviction-and-you-re-overcome-but-then-there-s-another-one/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [When I talk to booksellers, they tell me how hard it is to hand-sell some of my books because I do keep popping around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/when-i-talk-to-booksellers-they-tell-me-how-hard-it-is-to-hand-sell/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Housing being a top-order issue for cities is something that's not trivial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/housing-being-a-top-order-issue-for-cities-is-something-that-s-not/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [I think that we value fairness in this country. We value equal opportunity. Without a stable home, those ideals really fall apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-think-that-we-value-fairness-in-this-country-we-value-equal/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Exploitation. Now, there's a word that has been scrubbed out of the poverty debate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/exploitation-now-there-s-a-word-that-has-been-scrubbed-out-of-the/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [I think there are ways that graduate students can fact-check their work. I think there are ways that we can do this that don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-think-there-are-ways-that-graduate-students-can-fact-check-their/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Fire itself is very beautiful, and there's an attachment to fire that firefighters have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/fire-itself-is-very-beautiful-and-there-s-an-attachment-to-fire-that/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [“Sherrena nodded reassuringly and said, almost to herself, “I guess I got to stop feeling sorry for these people because nobody is feeling sorry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/sherrena-nodded-reassuringly-and-said-almost-to-herself-i-guess-i-got/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Everywhere else, we are someone else, but at home, we remove our masks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/everywhere-else-we-are-someone-else-but-at-home-we-remove-our-masks/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [A community that sees so clearly its own disadvantage or its own hardships also has a harder time seeing its potential: its ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/a-community-that-sees-so-clearly-its-own-disadvantage-or-its-own/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [“It was once said that the poor are 'constantly exposed to evidence of their own irrelevance.' Especially for poor African-American families - who live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/it-was-once-said-that-the-poor-are-constantly-exposed-to-evidence-of/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [A universal voucher program would change the face of poverty in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/a-universal-voucher-program-would-change-the-face-of-poverty-in-this/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [“Wildland firefighters do not enjoy the cultural prestige that structural firefighters do. They do not wax their fire engines and cruise down the local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/wildland-firefighters-do-not-enjoy-the-cultural-prestige-that/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) [Explore all 230 Matthew Desmond quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) ## More Exploitation quotes > [I remember being a kid and seeing the 'National Inquirer' at the grocery store checkout line. When somebody actually picked up a copy, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-jones/i-remember-being-a-kid-and-seeing-the-national-inquirer-at-the/) [Rashida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-jones/) > [Nothing better protects a human being against the stupidity of prejudice, racism, religious or political sectarianism, and exclusivist nationalism than this truth that invariably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/nothing-better-protects-a-human-being-against-the-stupidity-of/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [When the idea came up, (Newman's Own) I said, "Are you crazy? Stick my face on the label of salad dressing?" And then, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/when-the-idea-came-up-newman-s-own-i-said-are-you-crazy-stick-my-face/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [Communism is inequality, but not as property is. Property is exploitation of the weak by the strong. Communism is exploitation of the strong by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/communism-is-inequality-but-not-as-property-is-property-is/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Marx saw exploitation in terms of the rewards of human labor, but we can see it in terms of all the values of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/marx-saw-exploitation-in-terms-of-the-rewards-of-human-labor-but-we/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [The sexual abuse and exploitation of children is one of the most vicious crimes conceivable, a violation of mankind's most basic duty to protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-walsh/the-sexual-abuse-and-exploitation-of-children-is-one-of-the-most/) [James T. Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-walsh/) > [Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/exploitation-and-manipulation-produce-boredom-and-triviality-they/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I have visited sweatshops, factories, and crowded slums. If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-visited-sweatshops-factories-and-crowded-slums-if-i-could-not/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [For my whole life I have dedicated myself to those who have been subjected to injustice. I've conducted investigations and written in newspapers about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/for-my-whole-life-i-have-dedicated-myself-to-those-who-have-been/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [If we human beings learn to see the intricacies that bind one part of a natural system to another and then to us, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaylord-nelson/if-we-human-beings-learn-to-see-the-intricacies-that-bind-one-part-of/) [Gaylord Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaylord-nelson/) > [The marketing of anything is full of exploitation and lies and hype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/the-marketing-of-anything-is-full-of-exploitation-and-lies-and-hype/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [“Often, her mate is the child of a narcissist, already indoctrinated to regard exploitation and disregard as love. Others lured by the narcissistic aura…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elan-golomb/often-her-mate-is-the-child-of-a-narcissist-already-indoctrinated-to/) [Elan Golomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elan-golomb/) > [“A flat tire is like a bad attitude, you won't go anywhere until you change it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-brown/a-flat-tire-is-like-a-bad-attitude-you-won-t-go-anywhere-until-you/) [Winston Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-brown/) > [Extension work is not exhortation. Nor is it exploitation of the people, or advertising of an institution, or publicity work for securing students. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liberty-hyde-bailey/extension-work-is-not-exhortation-nor-is-it-exploitation-of-the/) [Liberty Hyde Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liberty-hyde-bailey/) [Browse all 648 Exploitation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploitation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Poverty is two-faced—a matter of income and expenses, input and output—and in a world of exploitation, it will not be effectively ameliorated if we ignore this plain fact. 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