Elizabeth Warren Quotes

I'm proud of my Native American heritage, ~ Elizabeth Warren

Cars, toys, aspirin, meat, toasters, water - nearly every product sold has passed basic safety regulations well in advance of being marketed and sold. But consumer credit is a kind of buyer-beware, wild west. That is partly the result of history. ~ Elizabeth Warren

G.E. doesn't pay any taxes, and we are asking college kids to take on even more debt to get an education and asking seniors to get by on less. These aren't just economic questions. These are moral questions. ~ Elizabeth Warren

The need for comprehensive reform must not blind us to the urgency of addressing the massive debt that's already crushing our young people. ~ Elizabeth Warren

People with banking experience haven't all flocked to the biggest banks; community banks and regional banks, along with smaller trading houses and credit unions, have some very talented people. ~ Elizabeth Warren

He didn't seem to understand yet was that I didn't really care about the ways of Washington. ~ Elizabeth Warren

In the 1960s, a minimum wage job would keep a family of three afloat. ~ Elizabeth Warren

It's so easy to focus on what could go wrong, on what else you could do before you try the thing you really want to do. No. Just get out there and try. ~ Elizabeth Warren

What I've learned is that real change is very, very hard. But I've also learned that change is possible - if you fight for it. ~ Elizabeth Warren

If the notion on this is we're going to elect somebody to the United States Senate so they can be the 100th least senior person in there and be polite, and somewhere in their fourth or fifth year do some bipartisan bill that nobody cares about, don't vote for me. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Everyone would like the world always to be in bubble times. But that doesn't happen. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Are you ready to fight for good jobs and and a solid level playing field? Are you ready to prove to another generation of Americans that we can build a better country and a newer world? Joe Biden is ready. Barack Obama is ready. I am ready. You're ready. ~ Elizabeth Warren

The President's policy proposal, known as 'chained CPI,' would re-calculate the cost of living for Social Security beneficiaries. That new number won't keep up with inflation on things like food and health care
the basics that we need to live. In short, 'chained CPI' is just a fancy way to say 'cut benefits for seniors, the permanently disabled, and orphans.' ~ Elizabeth Warren

Credit card agreements run as long as 30 pages, and it's 30 pages of largely incomprehensible text. ~ Elizabeth Warren

It's a story about what's worth fighting for, and how sometimes, even when we fight against very powerful opponents, we can win. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Accountability for the largest financial institutions on Wall Street is the bedrock for a strong economy. Hard-working families and honest businesses cannot survive in a world where the rules don't keep the marketplace honest. ~ Elizabeth Warren

The people on Wall Street broke this country, and they did it one lousy mortgage at a time. It happened more than three years ago, and there has been no real accountability, and there has been no real effort to fix it. ~ Elizabeth Warren

The people who are filing for bankruptcy in increasing numbers every year, it's not the poorest. It's not the people at the economic fringes. It's people who worked hard and played by the rules. ~ Elizabeth Warren

No, Governor Romney, corporations are not people. People have hearts, they have kids, they get jobs, they get sick, they cry, they dance. They live, they love, and they die. And that matters. That matters because we don't run this country for corporations, we run it for people. ~ Elizabeth Warren

It's better to fight because if you don't fight, you can't win. Besides, even when you don't win, you can change the game. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Credit cards are like snakes: Handle 'em long enough, and one will bite you. ~ Elizabeth Warren

The bankruptcy wars changed me forever. Even before this grinding battle, I had begun to understand the terrible squeeze on the middle class. But it was this fight that showed me how badly the playing field was tilted and taught me that the squeeze wasn't accidental. ~ Elizabeth Warren

It is easy when you are successful to think that you did it all by yourself and to forget that you didn't. You got here because a lot of things broke your way. You were lucky enough to be born into a family that could afford to take care of you well. ~ Elizabeth Warren

It takes money to run political campaigns. This is a cancer growing on the soul of our democracy. ~ Elizabeth Warren

I have to prove myself to everybody. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren is, I think, a great demonstration of the kind of movement-oriented model-wielding power from within the Senate. Over and over, she's rallied tons of people to battles that they don't normally get involved in. ~ Ben Wikler

There are very few people at the decision-making table to argue for minimum-wage workers. Very few people. ~ Elizabeth Warren

I know what I am in Washington to do: I'm here to fight for hardworking families. ~ Elizabeth Warren

We've seen filibusters to block judicial nominations, jobs bills, political transparency, ending Big Oil subsidies - you name it, there's been a filibuster. ~ Elizabeth Warren

In effect, two men - excuse me, two billionaires - turned a United States senator 180 degrees merely by threatening to spend big money. And they did it so brazenly that Senator Moran had to publicly humiliate himself to satisfy the brothers' demand....
My sympathy level for anyone who gives in to this kind of pressure is exactly zero. If my job ever depends on pleasing a couple of billionaires, I'll quit. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Others have said it before me. If you don't have a seat at the table, you're probably on the menu. And so it is important that we have women in the United States Senate - strong women, women who are there to help advance an agenda that is important to women. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Consumer banking - selling debt to middle class families - has been a gold mine. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Some economists estimate that for every family that goes bankrupt, there are about 15 more who are in the same amount of financial trouble and would profit from bankruptcy but just haven't filed. ~ Elizabeth Warren

I had a choice. I could be an insider or I could be an outsider. Outsiders can say whatever they want. But people on the inside don't listen to them. Insiders, however, get lots of access and a chance to push their ideas. People - powerful people - listen to what they have to say. But insiders also understand one unbreakable rule: They don't criticize other insiders. I ~ Elizabeth Warren

Citigroup has a lot of money, it spends a lot of money, and it uses that money to grow and consolidate power. And it pays off. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Washington is rigged for the big guys - and no person has more consistently called them out for it than Jon Stewart. Good luck, Jon! ~ Elizabeth Warren

Does anyone believe that Goldman Sachs is gonna give up a deal that would yield millions of dollars because someone fussed at them behind closed doors? ~ Elizabeth Warren

I hope Hillary Clinton runs for president. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Bankruptcy is about financial death and financial rebirth. Bankruptcy is the great American story rewritten. We're a nation of debtors. ~ Elizabeth Warren

I loved teaching, but every day that I went to work, I carried the worry that I was hurting my kids because I wasn't at home with them. ~ Elizabeth Warren

I'm not running for president. ~ Elizabeth Warren

The House barely passed the inelegantly named "cromnibus" appropriations bill after President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) were forced into an unlikely alliance against rebellions from both parties, primarily led by the "Elizabeth Warren wing" and House Democrats. The bill, which passed ~ Anonymous

Myrtle Elizabeth Warren - a pretty name - my name - no need for the moaning. SCORPIUS: ~ J.K. Rowling

My mother saved our home with a minimum wage job. But in the 1960s, a minimum wage job would support a family of three above the poverty line. Not today. Not even close. I understood right then that people can work hard, they can play by the rules, and they can still take a hard smack. ~ Elizabeth Warren

When you fight back and win, even in small battles, it makes a difference in who you become. You're better for it. That's what persistence is about. It's a ferocious optimism. ~ Elizabeth Warren

'Middle class' used to be synonymous with secure, with steady, with boring, because middle-class people were people who were pretty much safe from the time they first started work on through retirement and until their deaths. No longer. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Growing up, my mother and grandparents often talked about our family's Native American heritage. As a kid, I never thought to ask them for documentation - what kid would? ~ Elizabeth Warren

I'm happy that the GDP is up and unemployment is down. Yay! But I'm not drinking champagne. In fact, I'm hitting alarm buttons everywhere I can. Our once-solid middle class is in mortal danger - in danger and running out of time. Every one of those happy numbers is used by nearly every economic reporter and pundit and politician, but those numbers paper over the fact that America's middle class is literally disappearing. NO ~ Elizabeth Warren

I want millionaires and billionaires and Big Oil companies to pay their fair share. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Americans are fighters. We're tough, resourceful and creative, and if we have the chance to fight on a level playing field, where everyone pays a fair share and everyone has a real shot, then no one - no one can stop us. ~ Elizabeth Warren

I think a Donald Trump presidency sets up an Elizabeth Warren ascendancy. And it not Elizabeth Warren, someone of her ilk. And I think that's dreadful. ~ Bret Stephens

I never sought nor gained personal benefit in school or job applications based on my heritage. ~ Elizabeth Warren

The over-representation of Wall Street banks in senior government positions sends a bad message. It tells people that one - and only one - point of view will dominate economic policymaking. ~ Elizabeth Warren

If President Barack Obama had not been in the White House, we would not have the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Adjusted for inflation, somebody going to college today to a state university, is paying about 300 percent of what her mom or dad did just 30 years ago. ~ Elizabeth Warren

I would say that folks who have looked at this issue for a long time, whether it's Elizabeth Warren or many other economists, will tell you that right now, yes, we do need a 21st century Glass-Steagall legislation. ~ Hillary Clinton

We all understand that we are living longer, and we are more likely to spend more years as frail, elderly people who can't work. We also recognize that the wonderful advances in medicine also come with wonderful price tags. Those are things you can't budget around. ~ Elizabeth Warren

What we collectively decide about how to bail out our economy, how to pull our economy out of a ditch and what rules we put in place to make sure this problem does not happen again, will shape our country for the next 50 years. This is it. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Americans understand that the game is rigged, and they've had enough of it. They're ready to fight back. They want a Washington that works for them, i think that people are getting more engaged, politically, and they're seeing through a lot of the rhetoric that politicians have been throwing out there for a long time. They want to see some real change, and I think that's what we need to work on. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Keep a little space in your heart for the improbable. You won't regret it. ~ Elizabeth Warren

In 1978, we adopted a new Bankruptcy Code in the United States, and a principal part of this was designed to adjust to the new corporation, to find ways to let a corporation that had gotten into financial trouble reorganize itself. A big part of the selling point on this bankruptcy law was, 'It will preserve jobs.' ~ Elizabeth Warren

Wall Street's outsized influence in our nation's capital is something I've talked about for a long time - long before I even thought about running for office. But where I see a problem - an infestation, really - a lot of others in Washington, both Democrats and Republicans, seem to see government working just fine. ~ Elizabeth Warren

A good education is a foundation for a better future. ~ Elizabeth Warren

I oppose the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. It's an ill-conceived project that would lock us into further dependence on some of the dirtiest fossil fuels on the planet. ~ Elizabeth Warren

I want to be blunt: We should not be fighting about equal pay for equal work, and access to birth control, in 2012. These issues were resolved years ago - until the Republicans brought them back. ~ Elizabeth Warren

With post offices and postal workers already on the ground, USPS could partner with banks to make a critical difference for millions of Americans who don't have basic banking services because there are almost no banks or bank branches in their neighborhoods. ~ Elizabeth Warren

When you have no real power, go public
really public. The public is where the real power is. ~ Elizabeth Warren

I think Hillary Clinton is terrific. ~ Elizabeth Warren

You have to remember: what are incomes to banks are outgoes to families. ~ Elizabeth Warren

I had a baby and stayed home for a couple of years, and I was really casting about, thinking, 'What am I going to do?' My husband's view of it was, 'Stay home ... We'll have more children; you'll love this.' And I was very restless about it. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Bankruptcy exposes the economic vulnerability and insecurity of middle class women. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Balancing your money is the key to having enough. ~ Elizabeth Warren

The poor pay more, and that's one of the reasons people get trapped at the bottom of the economic ladder. ~ Elizabeth Warren

If the big banks expect to buy influence when they give money to favored think tanks, then the public has a right to know. If the big banks don't expect to buy influence and are merely making charitable contributions, then their shareholders have a right to know. Either way, there's no excuse for keeping these payments secret. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Some of these biggest financial institutions are out there trading in commodities. They're buying oil tankers. This is not a financial system that has calmed down and is there to serve the American people. ~ Elizabeth Warren

I held my father's hand while he died of cancer, and it's really painful when you do something like that up close and personal. My mother was already gone, and I was very, very close to my father. ~ Elizabeth Warren

The choice before us is simple. Will we continue to subsidize the dirty fossil fuels of the past, or will we transition to 21st century clean, renewable energy. ~ Elizabeth Warren

By late 2008, one out of every five mortgage holders owed more than their homes were worth. The banks called in the loans, and the foreclosure notices piled up. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Homeowners refinance their loans when interest rates go down. Businesses refinance their loans. ~ Elizabeth Warren

I do not understand how it is that financial institutions could think that they could take taxpayer money and then turn around and act like it's business as usual. I don't understand how they can't see that the world has changed in a fundamental way, that it is not business as usual when you take taxpayer dollars. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Part of my job is to make sense of all that I hear, and to retell it in a forceful way so that the decision-makers at Treasury can hear it. At least that's how I see it. ~ Elizabeth Warren

I hear all this, you know, 'Well, this is class warfare, this is whatever.' No. There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own - nobody. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Charting liberal hypocrisy is now old hat. From academia to the Sierra Club, elite progressives expect to live lives that are quite different from what they envision for the less sophisticated. No one believes that Elizabeth Warren would wish affirmative action to work for everyone in the way that she herself subverted it. Nor would we expect Warren not to be in the 1 percent that she so scolds - any more than we would assume that Al Gore would not leave a carbon footprint as large as those of thousands of the less environmentally sensitive put together. ~ Anonymous

Me, I was waiting tables of 13 and married at 19. I graduated from public schools, and taught elementary school. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Going to college and finding a good job no longer guarantee economic safety. ~ Elizabeth Warren

I talk to nurses and programmers, salespeople and firefighters - people who bust their tails every day. Not one of them - not one - stashes their money in the Cayman Islands to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Refinancing won't fix everything that's broken with our [American] higher education system. We've got to bring down the cost of college. And we need more accountability for how schools spend federal dollars. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Enforcement isn't about big government or small government. It's about whether government works and who it works for. ~ Elizabeth Warren

A lot of people think that regulations bring higher costs, but regulation is also about making sure that someone doesn't get to beat out the competition because they're dumping filth in the river or spewing poisons in the air. ~ Elizabeth Warren

You can put handcuffs on people who push the envelope. When they break the law, they deserve to have handcuffs. ~ Elizabeth Warren

In a democracy, hostage tactics are the last resort for those who can't otherwise win their fights through elections, can't win their fights in Congress, can't win their fights for the Presidency, and can't win their fights in Courts, For this right-wing minority, hostage-taking is all they have left - a last gasp of those who cannot cope with the realities of our democracy. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Who is Antonio Weiss? He's the head of global investment banking for the financial giant Lazard. ~ Elizabeth Warren

President Obama believes in a country where we invest in education, in roads and bridges, in science, and in the future so we can create new opportunities so the next kid can make it big and the kid afer that and the kid after that, that's what President Obama believes. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Rising student-loan debt is an economic emergency. ~ Elizabeth Warren

There is nobody in this country who got rich on their own. Nobody. You built a factory out there - good for you. But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn't have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory ... Now look. You built a factory and it turned into something terrific or a great idea - God bless! Keep a hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along. ~ Elizabeth Warren

We see men and women who work as hard as they possibly can and still fall behind a little more every month. We see lives that look nothing like those lived by billionaires in eighteen-thousand-square-foot condos, because these people don't live in some fairy tale - they live in today's reality. * ~ Elizabeth Warren

Families are going broke because they buy too much stuff! ~ Elizabeth Warren

The 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act will reestablish a wall between commercial and investment banking, make our financial system more stable and secure, and protect American families. ~ Elizabeth Warren

It doesn't make me happy to go back and talk about how great high school was. ~ Elizabeth Warren

Truly successful lives are about family. ~ Elizabeth Warren