Wealth & Money Quote by Richard Pryor

Pryor turns poverty into performance, not as a cute hustle slogan but as a survival mechanism with teeth. "When you ain't got no money" is plainspoken and deliberately unpolished; the double negative isn’t grammatical sloppiness so much as a marker of class and place. He’s speaking from inside the situation, not peering down at it. Then comes the pivot: "you gotta get an attitude". Not confidence. Not optimism. Attitude: a posture, a shield, a weapon, a way to take up space in a world that’s already decided you don’t deserve any.

The intent is pragmatic and slightly ruthless. If money is social proof, its absence makes you invisible or targetable. Attitude becomes substitute currency: it can buy you a moment of respect, deter exploitation, and negotiate dignity when the official systems are closed. Pryor’s genius is that he’s naming the emotional labor poverty demands: you’re not only broke; you’re required to manage everyone else’s assumptions about why you’re broke.

The subtext is also accusatory. The line implies a society where basic resources are so tightly tied to moral judgment that the poor must perform hardness to avoid being read as weak, lazy, or disposable. It’s funny because it’s true, and it’s true in a way that stings: the poor don’t get to be soft.

Context matters: Pryor built comedy out of race, class, addiction, and hustling - arenas where attitude isn’t swagger, it’s insurance. The punchline is a critique of the economy that forces people to monetize personality when they can’t access actual capital.