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"Close followers of fiscal policy will recognize these figures as familiar weapons in the generational theft' argument. The implication is that all that money the government spends on seniors is the reason child services are impoverished. But the argument is a con job."

"But an unbounded entitlement would not reduce children's early gaps in learning. It could even exacerbate disparities. The issue is how, not whether, to invest more in preschool, mindfully preventing learning disparities before they emerge. Poor youngsters enter kindergarten already four to six months behind their middle-class peers in oral language and preliteracy skills."

"The D.C. initiative is called the Family Engagement Partnership (FEP), supported by the Flamboyan Foundation, which tries to improve educational outcomes in the District and Puerto Rico. The program operates in 10 elementary schools - as well as two education campuses; two middle schools, one secondary school, and nine charter schools. They had to compete for a chance to join the program. The District plans to add 15 more schools."

"New Jersey has shown marked increases in getting low-income children to eat breakfast in school, while Pennsylvania has demonstrated slow improvement in serving the meals."

"Officials across the country, including Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York, are looking to efforts like those in New Jersey as they seek to broaden access to free, full-day prekindergarten. President Obama embraced the policy last year, and politicians in several states, including Maryland, Texas and Washington, are considering ambitious expansions."

"Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Tuesday unveiled a budget plan containing a glittering prize for Mayor Bill de Blasio: money for the prekindergarten classes that he had made a centerpiece of his insurgent bid for mayor."

"According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. There's a movement afoot by a few who want to double that minimum to $15 hour."

"The portion of St. Lawrence County school-age students living below the federal poverty level ranges from a low of 16 percent in the Canton Central School District to a high of 36 percent at Hermon-DeKalb Central, according to a Buffalo-based business magazine."

"The state offers 60,000 vouchers for children in struggling public schools each year, and fewer than one-third were used this school year. In June, as part of the state budget bill, the Legislature created 2,000 vouchers for low-income kindergartners across the state. Slightly more than half of those were claimed."

"Growing up poor has long been associated with reduced educational attainment and lower lifetime earnings. Some evidence also suggests a higher risk of depression, substance abuse and other diseases in adulthood. Even for those who manage to overcome humble beginnings, early-life poverty may leave a lasting mark, accelerating aging and increasing the risk of degenerative disease in adulthood."

"Launched in the District in 2010, Reading Partners received a $25,000 grant in June from The Washington Post Charities, a McCormick Foundation Fund dedicated to increasing the educational opportunities available to disadvantaged children and teens in the Washington region."

"Brown lives on $7,000 annually from Social Security and gets $15 a month in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called food stamps. She gets by barely. But she's looking for a part-time job."