David Dinkins Quotes

There's a lot of people out now around America who depend on checks from their fellow taxpayers being in the mailbox every day.

We simply can't keep providing money from the federal government in the form of subsidized or actual loans and Pell Grants when we don't have the money.

You don't set up an implicit promise from the federal government that everybody is getting bailed out.

I'm not living off of any taxpayer money. If I am - if it's food stamps, it's a temporary resource.

Welfare makes you dependent upon someone to take care of you.

Pell Grants open a lot of doors, but they rely on a solvent government.

Programs like food stamps, unemployment insurance, Medicaid, and job retraining help Americans get back on their feet when they are down and out and laid off through no fault of their own.

Safety nets for the poor and disadvantaged are a must for any compassionate nation, but encouraging folks to go on the dole when not absolutely necessary is disgraceful.

People like getting what they think is free stuff from government.

You can't have a situation in which companies proceed on a permanent basis relying only on cash from the government.

I don't believe in welfare.

The government is becoming the family of last resort.

If you need food stamps, you should meet the criteria.

I was once a welfare recipient and am very aware of the successes and failures of this critical safety net. There are those that would have us believe that those receiving TANF benefits are lazy, shiftless, freeloaders who are just sitting around thinking of another way to suckle from the government teat.

Every time the U.S. government makes a low-cost loan to someone, it's investing in them.

Who do you have coming to see you about the subsidies? Business people, no one else.

Welfare is hated by those who administer it, mistrusted by those who pay for it and held in contempt by those who receive it.

You do not have to cut finds from the elderly sick and still keep the yacht subsidy;

We don’t want to turn this [social] safety net into a hammock that ends up lulling people in their lives into dependency and complacency.

I don't think you ought to walk into this country one day, and the first stop you make is the welfare office.

I don't go to the federal government and say, 'Fund my program.'

I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs a repair, I'll fix it.

I receive food stamps but I have never been on welfare.

I was on the dole.

I never asked for stimulus.