Bob Rae Quotes

We don't have to accept an economy that doesn't work just because some people have got rich in the status quo. That is not democracy.

Rising inequality is not a law of nature - it's not even a law of economics. It is a consequence of political and economic arrangements, and those arrangements can be changed.

It's not my fault that there is this gap between rich and poor, it is the fault of governments. I want a different world. One where I don't wake up thinking I'm so lucky to be able to feed my daughter.

We cannot separate politics from economics.

The distribution of wealth ... depends on the laws and customs of society ... what the opinions and feelings of the ruling class make them, and are very different in different ages and countries; and might be still more different, if mankind so chose.

The global economy should not be supported by wage earners. They have to be able to build a future like any other human being.

I think the defining issue of our time is: Does the economic, social, and political system work for the middle class?

The wealthy have a responsibility to invest in addressing inequality. This is especially true when constraints on others are so great.

I'm very keen that we have this debate about the good parts of inequality and the bad parts of inequality. It's not a one-sided thing.

This should be the message of Occupy Wall Street: We just want a chance; our government needs to give us a chance.

The worldview of the Left is a battle between rich and poor

We must create a kind of globalization that works for everyone... and not just for a few.

Diamonds are a key component in the campaign to make poverty history.

The only way to have a better world and end poverty is by closing the gap between the top and the bottom.

Occupy Wall Street is meant more as a way of life that spreads through contagion, creates as many questions as it answers, aims to force a reconsideration of the way the nation does business and offers hope to those of us who previously felt alone in our belief that the current economic system is broken.

The thing about Occupy is that the sentiment the movement embodies is timeless: Don't be greedy, share.

No advance in wealth, no softening of manners, no reform or revolution has ever brought human equality a millimeter nearer.

I have said it already, I am convinced that the way to build a new and better world is not capitalism. Capitalism leads us straight to hell.

For a free country to continue thriving, there have to be regular reforms, because any society, any economy that stays in place, you're going to see repeated attempts to exploit the openings for twisting policy to the advantage of those who already have wealth and power.

When I read things like the foundations of capitalism are shattering, I'm like, maybe we need that. Maybe we need some time where we're walking around with a donkey with pots clanging on the sides.

Women in America cannot achieve our full economic and personal fulfillment as long as the concentration of wealth and power in the top 1% continues to stifle democratic voices and progressive policies.

We continue to recognize the greater ability of some to earn more than others. But we do assert that the ambition of the individual to obtain for him a proper security is an ambition to be preferred to the appetite for great wealth and great power.

Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.

I don't believe in trickle-down economics. I don't think that people who have the most are inclined to share it, generally.

Well, first of all, I think that a lot of the voters who are voting for the tea party candidates have really good impulses. That is, they believe that for years and years and years, the people with wealth and power or government power have done well and ordinary people have not. That's true.