by apadmin | Jan 26, 2016 | Uncategorized
March 3rd, 2010 The White House announced yesterday that for the first time in over 40 years, the commerce department is adopting a new formula for measuring poverty. Called the “supplemental measure of poverty,” it will not replace the current official measure of...
by apadmin | Jan 26, 2016 | Uncategorized
March 2nd, 2010 What’s one of the biggest reasons more Alabamians don’t go to college? Paying for it. Alabama has one of the country’s highest poverty rates at 16 percent, but the one of the lowest state budgets for need-based financial aid at just $3.35 million in...
by apadmin | Jan 26, 2016 | Uncategorized
This morning, President Obama, General Powell, and U.S. Secretary of Education Anne Duncan addressed the nation about one of the leading determinants of economic prosperity: educational attainment. Powell’s America’s Promise Alliance launched a new campaign, Grad...
by apadmin | Jan 26, 2016 | Uncategorized
February 17th, 2010 Last week, my friends and I had a pretty intense conversation about the Facebook group “Making Drug Tests Required to Get Welfare” and the counter group “Cringing in disbelief at “Making Drug Tests Required to Get Welfare.” What’s my take away? ...
by apadmin | Jan 26, 2016 | Uncategorized
February 9th, 2010 Feeding America recently released its 2010 Hunger Report, which showed that one in eight Americans — 37 million — received emergency food help last year. That’s up a whopping 46% from 2006. In Alabama, the Food Bank of North Alabama and the Food...
by apadmin | Jan 26, 2016 | Uncategorized
February 3rd, 2010 Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr., had an interesting Sunday column. It is recommended reading. Leonard Pitts: Public silence greets poor’s powerlessness If he’d said it of Jews, he would still be apologizing. If he’d said it of blacks,...
by apadmin | Jan 26, 2016 | Uncategorized
January 28th, 2010 One of the many roles I play is as vice-chair of the Alabama Commission to Reduce Poverty. This is a brand new, permanent commission, and my fellow officers are the chair, Rep. Patricia Todd (D-Birmingham), and the secretary, Sen. Arthur Orr...
by apadmin | Jan 26, 2016 | Uncategorized
January 26th, 2010 Today’s Tuscaloosa News has a great editorial today challenging the Alabama Commission to Reduce Poverty (of which I am the vice chair) to set goals and work with the legislature to reduce poverty in Alabama. I couldn’t agree with the News’...
by apadmin | Jan 26, 2016 | Uncategorized
January 20th, 2010 Yesterday we had the second meeting of the Alabama State Commission to Reduce Poverty, and Jodie Levin-Epstein from the Center for Law and Social Policy talked about the work of poverty commissions across the country. She also challenged us to set...
by apadmin | Jan 26, 2016 | Uncategorized
January 18th, 2010 Please join the Alabama Association of Nonprofits Alabama Civil Justice Foundation Alabama Poverty Project Alabama State Commission to Reduce Poverty Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham For a reception in honor of Jodie Levin-Epstein, Deputy...