“Poverty is not a disgrace, but it’s terribly inconvenient”

“Poverty is not a disgrace, but it’s terribly inconvenient” is a modern form of a very old saying. “Never be ashamed of thy calling, for Pouertie is no vice, though it be an inconvenience” was recorded in 1591. “It is no disgrace to be poor, we know, but it is terribly inconvenient” was cited in an American newspaper in 1876.
 
New York-borm actor and comedian Milton Berle (1908-2002) has been credited with the saying (“Poverty is not a disgrace, but it’s terribly inconvenient”) since at least 2005, but he obviously did not originate it.
 
“It’s no disgrace to be poor, but it might as well be” is a related saying.
 
   
7 January 1846, New-York (NY) Commerical Advertiser, “Temperance,” pg. 2, col. 3:
“It is no disgrace to be poor, but some
Have found it to be very inconvenient.”
 
9 May 1876, The Daily Burlington Hawk-eye (Burlington, IA), pg. 2, col. 2:
It is no disgrace to be poor, we know, but it is terribly inconvenient. We have often felt, after a hard day’s work, as if we should like to read a few chapters in a Scandinavian Bible, and now here is the work, printed in 1550, offered for sale in New York, and we haven’t a thousand dollars to spare to purchase it.—Norristown Herald.
 
Chronicling America
14 May 1876, New Orleans (LA) Democrat, pg. 1, col. 5:
It is no disgrace to be poor, we know, but it is terribly inconvenient. (...)—Norristown Herald.
 
11 May 1906, The Courier (Orrville, OH), “Wisdom of the Ancients WIth Modern Comments,” pg. 2, col. 2:
“It is hard to find one who bears poverty with a noble spirit.”—Aristides.
Poverty is no disgrace, but it is terribly inconvenient. Give a fool plenty of riches and he may make quite a showing of nobility—for a while.
   
25 March 1907, Bellingham (WA) Herald, pg. 8, col. 3 ad:
“Poverty is no sin but it is terribly inconvenient.”
(First National Bank.—ed.)
 
4 April 1909, Kalamazoo (MI) Gazette, pg. 10, col. 5:
Poverty is No Sin, But It Is Terribly Inconvenient
(Norcorss-Inkster COmpany.—ed.)
   
Google Books
Modern Hospital
Volume 51
1938
Pg. 63:
FOR some years past the Visiting Nurse Associations in Westchester County, New York, have been reluctantly accepting the philosophy of the day, “It’s no disgrace to be poor but it’s terribly inconvenient.”
 
Google Books
Laugh Off:
The Comedy Showdown Between Real Life and the Pros
By Bob Fenster
Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel Publishing
2005
Pg. 11:
Comic Milton Berle: “Poverty is not a disgrace, but it’s terribly inconvenient.”
 
Google Books
It’s Not So Funny When It’s Your Money:
A Lighthearted Look at Some Typical Financial Behavior from a Financial Advisor’s Perspective
By Stuart Horowitz with Andrew G. Rosenberg and Ellen Rosenthal
New York, NY: iUniverse, Inc.
2006
Pg. 76:
“Poverty is not a disgrace, but it’s terribly inconvenient.” -Milton Berle
 
Google Books
Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs
Edited by Jennifer Speake
New York, NY: Oxford University Press
2015
Pg. 253:
POVERTY is no disgrace, but it is a great inconvenience.
There is no necessary moral stigma attaching to poverty but it greatly hampers people.
1591 J. FLORIO

105 Never be ashamed of thy calling, for Pouertie is no vice, though it be an inconvenience.
1721 J. KELLY Scottish Proverbs 278 Poortha [Poverty] is a Pain, but no Disgrace, Unless it be to the effects of Laziness, and Luxury.
 
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Milton Berle: Poverty is not a disgrace, but it’s terribly inconvenient. | #Quotes
11:53 AM - 28 Dec 2015