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NEWS ABOUT: low-income families

Rich, Poor Kids Face Widening Education Gap

Achievement divide soars since 1960s, studies say

(Newser) - There's a vast gap in educational success between lower-income and wealthy children, studies say—a divide that has received relatively little attention until now. In recent decades, the achievement gap between rich and poor children has grown as the gap between black and white students has shrunk, the New ... More »

Nearly Half of Americans Are Poor, Low-Income

New metric includes living costs

(Newser) - Nearly 1 in 2 Americans are living either below the poverty level or within a stone's throw of it, according to a new Census metric designed to give a more complete view of poverty. According to the latest data, 49.1 million Americans are below the poverty line, and... More »

1 in 3 Americans Poor or 'Near Poor'

Census figures show spike in people just getting by: New York Times

(Newser) - More bleak census numbers: About 100 million Americans, or 1 in 3, are either living in poverty or not too far above the official level, reports the New York Times . Specifically, 51 million people have incomes less than 50% above the poverty line, and this group described by the newspaper... More »

Comcast Plans $10 Internet for Low-Income Families

Plan stems from NBC merger

(Newser) - Comcast is readying a discount Internet service for families whose kids receive free lunches by way of the National School Lunch program, the company announced on its blog . For $9.95 a month, families who live in one of the 39 states Comcast serves with at least one child participating... More »

Why We Need Summer School

Low-income kids lose two months' worth of learning each year: Jeff Smink

(Newser) - Americans hate to sacrifice the traditional “lazy summer”—but the long breaks are taking a toll on kids’ education. “Summers off are one of the most important, yet least acknowledged, causes of underachievement in our schools,” writes Jeff Smink in the New York Times . On average,... More »

Wal-Mart to Storm Big Cities With Small Stores

Retailer makes a pitch to urban America

(Newser) - Wal-Mart is looking to take Manhattan—as well as large US cities—by opening a slew of small- and mid-sized stores in urban America, the Wall Street Journal reports. Wal-Marts as small as 30,000 square feet—six times smaller than the average "supercenter"—are headed to unfamiliar... More »

Quarter of US Households Have Limited Bank Access

Minorities, low-income families hit hardest

(Newser) - A quarter of US households have little or no access to banks—relying instead on nontraditional services such as check-cashing shops, pawn shops, or payday loans, and often paying exorbitant interest rates. The first comprehensive survey of its kind by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. showed that 71% of families... More »

Poverty May Be a Brain Drain

Low-income kids respond less to visual data; researchers point to talk at home

(Newser) - Children from poor families absorb information less effectively than their wealthier peers, the BBC reports. Using brain scans, scientists measured the cerebral activity of 9- and 10-year-olds after briefly showing them images. “The low socioeconomic kids were not detecting or processing the visual stimuli as well,” said one... More »

CEO Pays $1M for Front-Row DC Gala for Disadvantaged

Wounded soldiers, poor, ill will be invited, catered to during 'People's Inauguration'

(Newser) - The fairy godmother of inauguration balls is Earl Stafford, a Virginia businessman who plans to host disadvantaged Americans at “The People’s Inauguration.” The devout Baptist paid $1 million for a build-your-own-ball opportunity at a hotel along the Washington parade rout, and promises to spend more to offer... More »

Gas Prices Hit Hardest in Rural Areas—not Suburbs

The South, Southwest, and upper Great Plains feel brunt of $4 fuel

(Newser) - Gas prices, which hit an all-time-high average of $4 a gallon over the weekend, are causing more pain in rural America than anywhere else, with motorists in the South, Southwest, and the upper Great Plains the hardest hit. With relatively low wages and high use of pickup trucks and vans,... More »

Rising Cost of Essentials Slams Poor Families

Prices of "core" items are rising twice as fast as wages

(Newser) - The rising price of essentials and sluggish growth in wages mean that inflation is hitting low- to middle-income families hardest, the Washington Post reports. Americans are paying 9.2% more for staples—groceries, gas, health care, etc.— than they did in 2006, nearly twice the pace of the growth... More »

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