Top 55 Tom Steyer Quotes

Republicans like to accuse Democrats of trying to ‘pick winners and losers.’ They say we should run government ‘like a business’ and let ‘the market’ decide important matters. When it comes to the declining fortunes of dirty fuels like coal, however, they quickly they abandon these principles.

My experience of American politics is that people raise issues, and they get addressed in an effective but imperfect way. But that’s sort of the American system: Mind the problem and worry it, and then we attack it with overwhelming power and put it away – and that’s the end of that problem.

The more we allow Republicans to concentrate the lion’s share of wealth in the hands of a few, the more power these wealthy few will have. And they will use this power to continue rewriting the rules of both our economy and our political system in their favor.

If he truly thinks he can be president, Donald Trump needs to understand that we need real solutions – not more walls and giveaways to polluting special interests.

When Republicans say they want to run government ‘like a business,’ they apparently mean ‘run government like a Trump casino headed straight for bankruptcy court.’

Californians like to spend a lot of time talking about how great our state is, but the truth is that we have learned and executed a very important lesson: if we want to win on issues as critical as climate change – if we want to lead – we absolutely have to stand together.

If you’re struggling to make your mortgage payment, and you’ve got three kids between the ages of 12 and 18, and you and your spouse works, and someone says, ‘Oh, by the way, the world’s ending,’ it’s like, ‘Please. You don’t need to tell me that.’

On the path to a low-carbon, clean-energy future, we need cleaner, non-intermittent sources of power that will allow us to keep the lights on when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining.

Fossil fuels are raw materials that have to be extracted and processed. Wind and solar energy are different. The only costs associated with them are technological.

Since the Reagan era, Republicans have prescribed cuts for rich people and corporations as a cure-all. But every time they put their theory into practice, the rich just get richer, and everyone else gets left behind.

Breaking of norms and disregard for decency have huge, long-term costs.

What makes a successful country is when you invest in the people of the country – whether it’s education, health care, job training – and you rebuild a clean America to provide the kind of infrastructure that will be sustainable and let us grow.

I founded NextGen Climate with a clear mission in mind: to act politically to prevent climate disaster and preserve American prosperity.

No one can be immune from our laws; everyone must be held to account.

On climate and clean energy, government sets the international framework, and the private sector uses that framework to do what it does best: innovate, create, and drive global progress.

Tar sands oil is dirtier, more corrosive, and worse for the environment than conventional oil.

Our message to leaders from every continent was simple: California has succeeded on climate and clean energy because we’ve emphasized local, human values and built a coalition that includes community and environmental leaders, working families, and communities of color – as well as unions and progressive business.

America faces very real challenges. The climate crisis, inequality, stagnant wages, student debt – the list goes on. Rather than address these serious problems, Trump uses hate-filled rhetoric to divide America by race, religion, and ancestry.

I know there are five stages of grief, but my parents raised me to pull up my socks when times get tough.

Violence never solves problems. It may cover them up temporarily because of the fear it is intended to inspire, but it is part of a cycle, not the end of a cycle.

The American people know that climate change is the kind of problem only America can solve.

I’m a 30-year businessperson. I believe in American business. I believe in American ingenuity, and I believe in American innovation.

Trump has become the star of our 24-hour political news cycle, and every pundit in America seems to be grabbing for some of the reflected light from his explosive campaign.

Clarity of vision is the key to achieving your objectives.

We will pay a heavy price if we insist on navigating the 21st century with a 20th century mindset.

I really don’t want the highlight of my life to be my success as an investor. Genuinely. My idea of death would be that person who is still telling you about that goal he scored in 1974.

I’m willing to do just about anything to try and contribute to getting us back on a growth path that is just and good for America.

Voting is our right, but it is also our responsibility because if we don’t take the next step and elect leaders who are committed to building a better future for our kids, other rights – our rights to clean air, clean water, health, and prosperity – are placed directly in harm’s way.

When an oil company executive tells American families that we don’t need to be concerned with tar sands pipeline safety, it’s not only misleading, it’s insulting.

Tragically, no industry has done more to block crucial action to address climate change than the oil industry.

I think that my general feeling about the United States is that democracy works, and I’ve believed that my whole life, and my experience as a businessperson for 30 years was if you ignore the sound and fury, American democracy works if you give it enough time.

I think Donald knows climate change is a serious threat – but he only cares about protecting his luxury coastal properties, not the rest of America. Observing his actions as they relate to his business interests offers the best insight into the man behind the bluster.

We believe the way social change occurs in the United States, over the last 200 years, is the democratic process.

In 2013, I dedicated myself full-time to combating the very real impacts of climate change. Working across the country, NextGen Climate Action formed new coalitions and worked hard to make climate change a part of our national conversation – and across the country, we had a big impact.

Some members of the ruling class are making a concerted effort to expand the wealth gap.

Here’s the truth: Keystone XL won’t make America energy-independent. It will threaten our land and livelihoods to pump Canadian tar sands’ heavy crude through America and out to foreign countries, like China.

America can’t stop talking about Donald Trump. Even if we want to look away, we just can’t.

Trump manipulates the fearful by promising that he will use his fraudulent deal-making prowess to protect and take care of his supporters.

Climate change is a global crisis – one the international community and private sector must tackle together if we have any hope of averting the worst impacts on our health, our economies, and our communities.

Faced with global challenges, politicians like Donald Trump have played on the fears and concerns of the American people with divisive, hateful rhetoric and proposals.

The idea of ‘climate’ – in quotation marks – is never going to be the issue. It’s always going to be a local, human issue. And so to the extent that you put ‘climate’ on the ballot, that’s never going to move the needle.

Though much about Donald Trump is chaotic and unpredictable, his overall agenda as a businessman and politician is clear and consistent: He wants to make himself more powerful, and he doesn’t care how he does it.

Trump’s one consistent position is that he will stop at nothing to protect his properties and his profits.

We try to separate the world into the stuff we can control and the stuff we can’t.

The fact of the matter is, people care about their own human interests: the people they love, their families, and their communities.

I’ve always said that climate change is the defining issue of our generation. I’ve set out to hold candidates and elected officials accountable and to push our democracy to truly represent the interests of our kids.

Tax cuts for the rich defund the critical public programs on which American families depend.

As a Californian, I feel lucky to live in what is truly the Golden State – a place of sunshine, agricultural bounty, natural beauty, technological innovation, and boundless optimism.

To say Donald Trump would be a disaster for our country, our democracy, and our future would be doing a grave disservice to the word ‘disaster.’

The truth is that transitioning to clean energy like wind and solar will create millions of new, good jobs that can’t be outsourced, and spur economic growth – all while avoiding the inevitable, significant damages our economy will suffer should we keep building more pipelines.

The most expensive way to do business is to do it deal by deal, each of which is highly contentious.

As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump promised to ‘fix the rigged system.’ By ‘fix,’ he apparently meant rigging it to permanently benefit billionaires like himself.

We eliminated the monarchy. We put limits on how long one person could lead our country and on the powers they held while in office. We took differences of opinion seriously – in fact, we built them into the fabric of our government.

As I like to say, if you want to pay attention to a horse race, put two dollars on a horse, and you’ll pay enormous attention to all 11 horses in the race.