Alphonso Jackson Quotations

The largest challenge that we face, from my perspective, is the ability to continue moving forward so the agency will have a single mission: that is, to provide decent, safe, and affordable housing.

The dream doesn't lie in victimization or blame; it lies in hard work, determination and a good education.

You can't rise as a class. You have to rise individually. It's what many of the civil rights-era people don't understand.

So, we're saying, if we can give developers and builders incentives to cut down on the regulatory barriers that are faced in this country, then we might be able to address the needs of affordable housing.

And what most people don't understand is the bulk of business in this country is small business.

I believe that if you are elderly, physically or mentally handicapped we have an obligation too you, but if you are able-bodied, you should be working.

The other part of outsourcing is this: it simply says where the work can be done outside better than it can be done inside, we should do it.

But we look back now, and we realize the Great Society was not a success.

Progress for black Americans depends on good schools because education is the last great equalizer.

America is a place where you can be born into a low-income household but still lift yourself up, and it doesn't matter what color you are.

I think that there will always be a need for Housing and Urban Development.

And I always like to stress, it's not a quota, not a set-aside, it's not about race, it's about giving opportunities to demonstrate their abilities to do work with the Federal Government.

As you know, in this country Anglo-Americans are about 75 to 76 percent home ownership in this country, where Hispanics, African Americans are less than 50 percent.

One of the problems that we are confronted with is, when we decide to buy or build a home, we don't get a clear picture of what closing costs will be of that home.

For the first half of my adult life, I was a Democrat.

And I'm the kind of manager that doesn't believe that you micro-manage professionals. They should understand their responsibility and carry out those responsibility.

The Bush administration is the most diverse in history because the president fills jobs on the basis of a person's capabilities and qualifications, not on the color of his or her skin.

After leaving law school, I intentionally said that I never wanted to hold a job more than six years.

And for far too long, the Democrats have had a monopoly on black votes in this country.

HUD's mission is to provide decency and sanitary housing for low and moderate income people in this country.

I think serving your government is the greatest thing in the world.

In the final analysis, it is your decision to make, but it doesn't move as fast as I'd like it to move.

So, I have the responsibility of making sure that HUD functions and runs well.

But I do know this: that the two and a half years that I've been at HUD, I am absolutely convinced that some of the best workers in the world are in Federal Government.

They take pride in their schools. They begin to participate, where, when they are renters, they don't do that. So what we're doing by this program is strengthening America.

We believe that, by the time that we leave office, it will be institutionalized, and these programs will be addressing the needs and curing the problem that we set out to do.

So I've had a very vast career. And one of the things I think is so phenomenal about my career is I've had a lot of experiences.

So it's a very, very unique job, but at the same time, it's very, very rewarding.

So I had to learn, in the final analysis, that the Congress had a lot of say so into what we do in running HUD on a day-to-day basis.

New Orleans is not going to be as black as it was for a long time, if ever again.

have come to realize they might not go back to New Orleans.

Having a roof over your head is one of the most basic human needs, ... I can assure you that together with our local partners, we're working overtime to make certain every available home will be offered to families who may have lost everything.

People are changing, and I think that in the final analysis, the Government will have to change with the people.

I'm heartened to know that our partners are doing their bit to keep the home mortgage finance pipeline opened so we can accelerate the recovery in . . . these devastated communities,

I would not change coming to serve our country and President Bush for anything in the world at this point in time.

This nationwide telephone number will provide callers expanded services and hours and the opportunity to speak with an actual person, ... With all that displaced families are going through starting to rebuild their lives, the last thing they need to encounter is an answering machine without answers. We have increased our staffing at the National Servicing Call Center in Oklahoma, and we currently have the capacity to handle 15,000 calls daily.

Being poor is a state of mind, not a condition.

I was soon drawn to the Republican Party because I realized that it truly, not just rhetorically, believed in equality.

In 1965, I marched for equality.

Yet critics on the left find it incomprehensible that any black American could succeed on his or her own through hard work and determination.

it would be a mistake to rebuild the Ninth Ward.

The so-called black leaders of this nation have convinced a large portion of the black community that blacks aren't capable of self-advancement.

Of the families I talked to, 90% of the families have no desire to go back, ... But that's not what I'm hearing from Texas. It's a whole different perspective.

The National Fair Housing Training Academy will be a major component in fully enforcing the letter and the spirit of the Fair Housing Act and further ensuring that fair housing is central to the American way of life,

They tout the belief that if blacks want to succeed in this country, there is only one path: reliance on the government.

Although the Fair Housing Act of 1968 made it illegal to discriminate in selling, renting or financing housing in America, recent studies we have conducted show housing discrimination is alive and well in the U.S., ... Under the leadership of President Bush, our national commitment to creating equal housing opportunities for all Americans is as strong today as it was under President Johnson in 1968 when this law was passed.

The Republican Party is committed to the basic principle that everyone deserves a chance to achieve the American Dream.

The administration is committed to help every city, county and state

I mean, I look back now and I realize that at the time Great Society was put in place, you had a different vision.

I know if it shocked me, it shocks low- and moderate-income people, especially people who have to travel an hour and a half back and forth to work. There are certain low-income people that clearly are going to be devastated by the oil prices. If we can help them, we should come to their defense.

The funding we announce today will help provide homes and vital services to those who need them most.