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Measuring poverty realistically

by | 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...

Making college more affordable for everyone

by | 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...

The blame game.

by | 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? ...

1 in 8 get help at food banks

by | 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...

Do we breed contempt for the poor?

by | 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,...

We agree: Alabama can lose the high poverty rate

by | 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’...

Does Alabama have to always be poor?

by | 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...