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"School is back in session, and many impoverished parents in Alabama who struggle to keep food on the table can breathe a sigh of relief. Children once again, if needed, can eat a free or reduced-price cafeteria meal. But not all working poor families qualify for help. Alabama has one of the highest rates of food-insecure households with children. Nearly one third of the state's 1 million children often can't be sure dinner will be served. And the bad numbers on food insecurity show no sign of letting up, as unemployment creeps higher, particularly in north Alabama, where thousands of manufacturing jobs have been lost in recent months."

"For the 16 million American children living below the federal poverty line, the start of a new school year should be reason to celebrate. Summer is no vacation when your parents are working multiple jobs or looking for one. Many kids are left to fend for themselves in neighborhoods full of gangs, drugs and despair. Given the hardships at home, poor kids might be expected to have the best attendance records, if only for the promise of a hot meal and an orderly classroom. But it doesn't usually work out that way. According to the education researchers Robert Balfanz and Vaughan Byrnes at Johns Hopkins, children living in poverty are by far the most likely to be chronically absent from school (which is generally defined as missing at least 10 percent of class days each year)."

"It's time once again for communal hand-wringing over the fact that the state Supreme Court still hasn't ruled in the 21-year-old lawsuit alleging that South Carolina has deprived children in the Corridor of Shame of the 'minimally adequate' public education that our constitution requires."

"Other programs recommended by the plan involve community building efforts, such as connecting different generations in communal projects and cultural events, linking youths with positive peer groups and sponsoring social activities in areas with the highest concentration of social welfare case loads and community violence. The plan also envisions engaging businesses in economic rehabilitation of neighborhoods and providing living-wage jobs for community residents."

"The Southbridge schools are participating in a federal government-sponsored universal meal program called the Community Eligibility Provision, the latest opportunity for schools with high percentages of low-income children to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students. Qualifying schools must have at least 40 percent of their students either in foster care, Head Start, or are confirmed as homeless, migrant or living in households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash assistance, or Food Distribution on Indian Reservation benefits. The meals program is a result of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, and it was phased in by the U.S. Department of Agriculture over three years."

"The rising percentage of Kansas children who receive free or reduced-price lunches at school is a genuine trend linked to poverty, not a ploy to boost school funding, the Kansas Association of School Boards said Monday. In an eight-page report, the association's researchers analyzed the increase in Kansas schools of children who qualify for free or reduced lunch based on family incomes."

"The students -- largely low income and minority -- face a serious obstacle once they set foot on the community college campus. Many score poorly on Accuplacer, the national English-and-math placement exam given by most community college, and are therefore forced to spend precious time and money in remedial classes. Students often run short on funds and patience and wind up living school without the requisite degree or skills."

"A series of federal surveys of selective colleges found virtually no change from the 1990s to 2012 in enrollment of students who are less well off less than 15 percent by some measures even though there was a huge increase over that time in the number of such students going to college. Similar studies looking at a narrower range of top wealthy universities back those findings. With race-based affirmative action losing both judicial and public support, many have urged selective colleges to shift more focus to economic diversity."

"A potentially game-ending crisis for our nation is the growing number of people dependent on welfare - now at epidemic levels. The Census Bureau reports that in 2012, nearly 110 million Americans lived in a household that received some sort of means-tested aid. A whopping 35 percent of our population is on welfare. These figures don't include Social Security, Medicare, unemployment or veterans benefits.It does include 82 million people on Medicaid, with an additional 9 million expected to enroll this year due to Obamacare. In 2000, there were only 17 million people with EBT cards. That's up to 51 million now - 300 percent larger. Then there are 22 million on WIC; 13 million in public housing; 20 million on supplemental security income; 5 million on temporary assistance for needy families; and 4 million with other forms of tax-funded assistance."

"New data on federal public assistance programs show we've reached an ignominious milestone: More than 100 million Americans are getting some form of means-tested" welfare assistance. The Census Bureau found 51 million on food stamps at the end of 2012 and 83 million on Medicaid, with tens of millions of households getting both. Another 4 million were on unemployment insurance. The percentage of American households on welfare has reached 35%. If we include other forms of government assistance such as Medicare and Social Security, almost half of all households are getting a check or other form of government assistance."

"Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer has filed a lawsuit accusing Glendale Adventist Medical Center of dumping mentally ill and disabled homeless patients on L.A.'s skid row over the last four years. The six-page complaint, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, said the hospital improperly transported elderly and dependent patients to the downtown Los Angeles neighborhood, a 50-block area known for extreme poverty, homelessness, rampant sale and use of illegal drugs and violent crime.'"

"Think for a moment what would happen if a wealthy, four-year university suddenly announced its decision to give back to the community around it, and to voluntarily pay even a part of its would-be full tax payments to the city. Think what would happen if that university decided to do this without raising tuition, at least more than the amount by which tuition already rises per year. Think what would happen if the school demanded that the money be used to rebuild and improve poverty-stricken areas."