William Makepeace Thackeray Quotes

I know why we're strong. I know why we have held together; I know why we are united: it's because there's always been a growing middle class.

Comfort came in with the middle classes.

A thriving middle class is a necessary precondition for a free representative government.

The middle class is the engine of this economy.

I believe a solid, really strong middle-class is the key to making the country in the best way.

No matter how wealthy a few plutocrats get, we can never drive a great national economy. Only a thriving middle class can do that.

I think the success of democracy is not really police security; it's the presence of a broad middle class. The stronger the middle class of a people is, the less you have to worry about one group coming in and exploiting the democratic process for its own ends.

Remember, America's greatness is based on creating wealth like the rest of the world has never known, and then, making sure it's shared throughout a middle class and even the underprivileged.

What makes this country different is that we have a great middle class.

The health of a nation is not just about its consumption expenditures …. one of the things that makes America such a great nation, and why so many people aspire to this American ideal of middle-class security, is that it's about more than that. It's about more than how much you can purchase with the dollar. It's about this feeling of security and about being able to give your kids a better life than you had. And that is really the foundation—one of the major founding principles of our country

Democracy really depends not only on not just having a middle class but having wealth distributed relatively evenly across the society so that people buy into the legitimacy of the system

I'm someone who thinks that the world would be a better place if there was a big middle class. I mean, middle class is peace. In a perfect world, everybody would have enough to eat and we'd be living in security. It's obvious. I'm very happy to pay my taxes and all that. I would say I'm more of a Social Democrat.

Society can't function without shared prosperity.

In my experience, all Americans - Republicans, Democrats, and everyone in between - want roughly the same thing: an assurance that if they work hard, they can create a better life for themselves and their families. They want to feel safe in their communities and secure in their future.

Every country has rich people. But only a few places have achieved a vibrant and stable middle class. And in the history of the world, none has been more vibrant and more stable than the American middle class.

And as we work together, we will build a better America! As we work together, we will bring the middle class to thrive again! As we work together, we will make sure that everybody has the ladder of opportunity to climb!

We need policies that will benefit the middle class because you will not have a strong society without a strong middle class, fundamentally.

Without education, we are weaker economically. Without economic power, we are weaker in terms of national security. No great military power has ever remained so without great economic power.

Prosperity isn't something that squirts out of rich people.

We need to make sure middle-class people are able to pay the bills. We need to make sure that poor people don't starve. Those are values, too.

The organized workers of America, free in their industrial life, conscious partners in production, secure in their homes and enjoying a decent standard of living, will prove the finest bulwark against the intrusion of alien doctrines of government.

I am a social democrat - I believe in pursuing greater equality and tackling social justice - but... you can't do that unless you have got a strong economy, unless you have got a vibrant business base earning the wealth that makes that possible.

The more I support with my economic plans the building of a middle class, the quicker they're going to turn around and say, 'Hey, we want a bigger say in things.' So, I knew what I was getting into right at the beginning. It's the right thing to do.

Progressive policies implemented since the early 1900s launched America into the modern age and created a vibrant middle class.

It's time to focus on real solutions that will create jobs and build our economy for real strength and stability - not just for the fortunate few, but for every American.