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We are one of the richest countries in the world, and there is absolutely no reason why anyone should have to live in poverty.

People who work full-time in America should not have to live in poverty - simple as that. Too many jobs don't pay enough to get by, let alone get ahead. Too many people are finding the rungs on the ladder of opportunity further and further apart.

People who go to work every day and perform the services essential to keeping our economy functioning deserve to live above the poverty level.

Wealth is the ultimate panacea to poverty.

Nobody who works 40 hours a week should have to live in poverty.

Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.

It is unacceptable that someone can work full time - and work hard - and not be able to lift themselves out of poverty.

One of the reasons inequality gets so deep in this country is that everyone wants to be rich. That's the American ideal. Poor people don't like talking about poverty because even though they might live in the projects surrounded by other poor people and have, like, ten dollars in the bank they don't like to think of themselves as poor.

The reason we have poverty is that we have no imagination. There are a great many people accumulating what they think is vast wealth, but it's only money... they don't know how to enjoy it, because they have no imagination.

For those who are able to work, work has to be seen as the best route out of poverty. For work is not just about more money - it is transformative. It's about taking responsibility for yourself and your family.