--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The nation is prosperous on the whole…" description: "\"The nation is prosperous on the whole, but how much prosperity is there in a hole?\" — Will Rogers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/will-rogers-272_debt_the-nation-is-prosperous-on-the-whole-bu_2335505.jpg" --- # The nation is prosperous on the whole, but how much… ![“The nation is prosperous on the whole, but how much prosperity is there in a hole?” quote by Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/will-rogers-272_debt_the-nation-is-prosperous-on-the-whole-bu_2335505.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/will-rogers-272_debt_the-nation-is-prosperous-on-the-whole-bu_2335505.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/will-rogers-272_debt_the-nation-is-prosperous-on-the-whole-bu_2335505.jpg) > “The nation is prosperous on the whole, but how much prosperity is there in a hole?” [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prosperity can be uneven; overall wealth may hide pockets of poverty. **In simple terms:** Overall wealth can hide local poverty. Key Takeaway Look for hidden inequality. Themes economics inequality society Mood concerned reflective Type analytical social commentary When to use this quote - urban planning - policy making - community development - charitable work Key Concepts wealth distribution social justice Questions to Reflect On - How do you identify hidden poverty? - What policies can address local inequality? A Different Perspective Prosperity may be superficial if not inclusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Prosperity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prosperity/) [Prosperous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prosperous/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [India has to be transformed into a developed nation, a prosperous nation and a healthy nation, with a value system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/india-has-to-be-transformed-into-a-developed-nation-a-prosperous/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are two ideas of government. There are those who believe that, if you will only legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, their prosperity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/there-are-two-ideas-of-government-there-are-those-who-believe-that-if-2/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [Government doesn't make people prosperous. Prosperity is found within the ideas of the American people. Always has been, and it always will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-tuberville/government-doesn-t-make-people-prosperous-prosperity-is-found-within/) [Tommy Tuberville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-tuberville/) > [“There are two ideas of government. There are those who believe that if you just legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, that their prosperity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-schroeder/there-are-two-ideas-of-government-there-are-those-who-believe-that-if/) [Alice Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-schroeder/) > [Candidates have been telling you that if elected they would 'pull you from this bog hole of financial misery.' Now is a good chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/candidates-have-been-telling-you-that-if-elected-they-would-pull-you/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Coolidge has the best idea on this farm relief. He said, 'Farmers, you are in a hole. I can't help you, but I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/coolidge-has-the-best-idea-on-this-farm-relief-he-said-farmers-you/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [One of the reasons I think people are increasingly nervous about U.S. debt is because they think that we are not actually digging ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/one-of-the-reasons-i-think-people-are-increasingly-nervous-about-u-s/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [A debt is just as hard for a Government to pay as it is for an individual. No debt ever comes due at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/a-debt-is-just-as-hard-for-a-government-to-pay-as-it-is-for-an/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Expensive, well-executed, and familiar ads convince the investors, as nothing in the black and white tables of assets and debits can, that the company…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schudson/expensive-well-executed-and-familiar-ads-convince-the-investors-as/) [Michael Schudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schudson/) > [I preach that anybody can improve their lives. I think God wants us to be prosperous. I think he wants us to be happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/i-preach-that-anybody-can-improve-their-lives-i-think-god-wants-us-to/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [Democratic leaders, whose power is ultimately dependent on popular support, are held accountable for failing to improve the lives of their citizens. Therefore, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natan-sharansky/democratic-leaders-whose-power-is-ultimately-dependent-on-popular/) [Natan Sharansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natan-sharansky/) > [By hook or by crook, we're going to make sure that when I leave this office, that the country is more prosperous, more people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/by-hook-or-by-crook-we-re-going-to-make-sure-that-when-i-leave-this/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [If I were to offer advice to any president of the United States, it would be this: do whatever you can do to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/if-i-were-to-offer-advice-to-any-president-of-the-united-states-it/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Atheism can benefit no class of people; neither the unfortunate, whom it bereaves of hope, nor the prosperous, whose joys it renders insipid, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-ren-de-chateaubriand/atheism-can-benefit-no-class-of-people-neither-the-unfortunate-whom/) [François-René de Chateaubriand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-ren-de-chateaubriand/) > [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/) ## More by Will Rogers > [She was so ugly she could make a mule back away from an oat bin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/she-was-so-ugly-she-could-make-a-mule-back-away-from-an-oat-bin/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [We are always saying: Let the Law take its Course but what we really mean is: Let the Law take OUR Course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/we-are-always-saying-let-the-law-take-its-course-but-what-we-really/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [The Democrats and the Republicans are equally corrupt where money is concerned. It's only in the amount where the Republicans excel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-democrats-and-the-republicans-are-equally-corrupt-where-money-is/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Farmers, get out your sense of humor. Congress meets to relieve you again next week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/farmers-get-out-your-sense-of-humor-congress-meets-to-relieve-you/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Politicians, after all, are not over a year behind public opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/politicians-after-all-are-not-over-a-year-behind-public-opinion/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [American invents everything, but the trouble is we get tired of it the minute the new is wore off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/american-invents-everything-but-the-trouble-is-we-get-tired-of-it-the/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [I don't know what humor is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/i-don-t-know-what-humor-is/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [There are two things I don't care how smart you are, you will never understand. One is an alienist's testimony, and the other is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/there-are-two-things-i-don-t-care-how-smart-you-are-you-will-never/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [The more you observe politics, the more you've got to admit that each party is worse than the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-more-you-observe-politics-the-more-you-ve-got-to-admit-that-each/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [I don't think you can make a lawyer honest by an act of legislature. You've got to work on his conscience. And his lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/i-don-t-think-you-can-make-a-lawyer-honest-by-an-act-of-legislature/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [There are two theories to arguing with a woman. Neither works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/there-are-two-theories-to-arguing-with-a-woman-neither-works/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [America is a great country, but you can't live in it for nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/america-is-a-great-country-but-you-can-t-live-in-it-for-nothing/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [There ought to be one day - just one - when there is open season on senators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/there-ought-to-be-one-day-just-one-when-there-is-open-season-on/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Every Gag I tell must be based on truth. No matter how much I may exaggerate it, it must have a certain amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/every-gag-i-tell-must-be-based-on-truth-no-matter-how-much-i-may/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [So live that you would not mind selling your pet parrot to the town gossip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/so-live-that-you-would-not-mind-selling-your-pet-parrot-to-the-town/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) [Explore all 776 Will Rogers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) ## More Debt quotes > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Praise will come to those whose kindness leaves you without debt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/praise-will-come-to-those-whose-kindness-leaves-you-without-debt/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [“Most people, given more money, only get into more debt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-kiyosaki/most-people-given-more-money-only-get-into-more-debt/) [Robert T. Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-kiyosaki/) > [“An honest man is a debtless man, he doesn't owe anyone anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-honest-man-is-a-debtless-man-he-doesn-t-owe-anyone-anything/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [It is perhaps my greatest hope, Mr. President, that some day we'll consider tax and spending measures with no one else in mind but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/it-is-perhaps-my-greatest-hope-mr-president-that-some-day-we-ll/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-roby/the-american-people-reject-the-idea-of-giving-washington-a-blank/) [Martha Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-roby/) > [Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/without-a-trace-of-irony-i-can-say-i-have-been-blessed-with-brilliant/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [I love Black Sabbath. They made an amazing contribution to music today. Almost every band that made it big in the Nineties owed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/i-love-black-sabbath-they-made-an-amazing-contribution-to-music-today/) [Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/) > [“The human eye is restricted to see the useen, because there’s a price to be paid to the rulers of this image and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-human-eye-is-restricted-to-see-the-useen-because-there-s-a-price/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [It is a well-settled principle of the international code that where one nation owes another a liquidated debt which it refuses or neglects to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/it-is-a-well-settled-principle-of-the-international-code-that-where/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [Student loans have been helpful to many. But they offer neither incentive nor assistance to those students who, by reason of family or other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/student-loans-have-been-helpful-to-many-but-they-offer-neither/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [Our sins are debts that none can pay but Christ. It is not our tears, but His blood; it is not our sighs, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/our-sins-are-debts-that-none-can-pay-but-christ-it-is-not-our-tears/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [Instead of explaining the sober facts of mechanics and electricity, I want to say a few words about the debt which we owe to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-bloch/instead-of-explaining-the-sober-facts-of-mechanics-and-electricity-i/) [Felix Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-bloch/) > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) Browse all 2,345 Debt quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The nation is prosperous on the whole, but how much prosperity is there in a hole?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Will Rogers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-nation-is-prosperous-on-the-whole-but-how-much-prosperity-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Debt" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-nation-is-prosperous-on-the-whole-but-how-much-prosperity-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/will-rogers-272_debt_the-nation-is-prosperous-on-the-whole-bu_2335505.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/will-rogers-272_debt_the-nation-is-prosperous-on-the-whole-bu_2335505.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/will-rogers-272_debt_the-nation-is-prosperous-on-the-whole-bu_2335505.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The nation is prosperous on the whole, but how much prosperity is there in a hole?” — Will Rogers", "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": "Will Rogers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The nation is prosperous on the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-nation-is-prosperous-on-the-whole-but-how-much-prosperity-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-nation-is-prosperous-on-the-whole-but-how-much-prosperity-is/#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 } } ] } ```