Policy

It's a little on the economist/wonky side, but this column puts together some compelling research that what is driving the wage gap and rising income inequality is not that enough people aren't educated and able to get good jobs. Instead, it might be that too many people are under-employed and that middle class jobs don't pay enough. And then there's this zinger. “There is good reason to resist the proposition that education and technology are solely responsible for growing inequality.It provides political leaders an excuse to cast the problem as beyond the reach of policy.”

Head Start teachers are not federal employees, but Head Start is funded by the federal government. The Department of Health and Human Services pays for thousands of Head Start programs around the country by awarding thousands of grants. Most of the programs that depend on these grants will be fine during the shutdown; their funding is already in place for the year. But in 23 programs across 11 states, the funding is not in place. It was supposed to come through on Oct. 1st, the day the government shut down. NPR's Audie Cornish talked to the director of one of those 23 programs to find out how families have been affected.

The insidious thing about myths and stereotypes is their persistence. Like a stain on the public discourse, sometimes no amount of research, data, insight, or concrete evidence to the contrary will change how some people think about living in poverty in the U.S. Sometimes even falling into poverty---an unexpected shift in personal circumstances---doesn't change how one thinks about the causes and consequences of not having enough to eat, inadequate shelter, under- or unemployment, and lack of education. Today's release of the 2012 poverty numbers seems like a good opportunity to review some myths about poverty. The Urban Institute has done just that. Have a look and tell us: what ideas do you have about Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) that aren't necessarily true? What facts surprise you?

Grover Norquist does it. The NRA does it. Now, the Shriver Center tracks how each member of Congress votes on poverty issues. Check out your representative by clicking the link below.