Alabama Student Assistance Program: Fill & Download for Free

Having read the other answers to this question, I will answer with more questions. Because it is clear that very few people know the truth about how Red states stack up to Blue states. I will freely admit that I do not either, in total. But at least I am willing to admit that.A Blue state defender will always start with the argument that GDP is higher in Blue states. That is true, but what does that mean to the average citizen? They will point out that Red states, especially in the south, have higher poverty levels. And lower education attainment. They also say that the Blue states contribute more to the Federal government, and as a result are “net givers” without which the Red states would collapse into anarchy.So here are some questions to help get a Thanksgiving Day conversation going:If GDP is higher, isn’t is possible that that just means more wealth inequality? Blue states cost more to live in for nearly everything, not just the taxes. Houses cost more, gasoline costs more, college costs more, food costs more. Look at this Cost of Living Comparison Between Dallas and Chicago, just as an example.Poverty is lower in Red states after adjusting for the cost of living. List of U.S. states and territories by poverty rate. Based on this list, California has the highest adjusted poverty rate. California is the gold standard for left leaning policy. And don’t forget that the Blue states have 1.5x as much state level debt per capita as the Red states do.Educational attainment is all over the board. Many Red states far outperform California and New York. Many Blue states outperform Mississippi and Alabama. National Data Explorer - ETS. Is it possible there is some other driving factor besides state budgets and political philosophy? Our cost per student is as high as anywhere in the world, but our test scores don’t improve over time. Why is that? Could it be the government sponsored monopoly at work?The tax and revenue give and take is a very tangled web indeed. If a state has a military base that benefits all, should that cost be considered a gain for the state versus taxes paid in? What about grants that are awarded that benefit all in society? Here is a table that breaks out where the money goes. As you can see, the biggest reason Red states take more from the Federal government is for retirement payments. And a reminder, for “nonretirement benefits”, it is hard to see who receives those at the state level. It needs to be looked at by the county level. It could be Democrats within the Red states that are receiving those benefits. Just as it could be Republicans in the Blue states. Who knows? Someone does. 21.3% of US Participates in Government Assistance Programs Each MonthSo as you can see, the metrics are easily manipulated and to answer your question, I believe left leaning people really believe that their way is better. They tend to believe also that they are smarter and know what is best for all of us. The only thing to do until they can be educated is to resist."The trouble with our Liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so." Ronald Reagan.

11 facts about hunger1 in 6 people in America face hunger.Households with children reported a significantly higher food insecurity rate than households without children in 2011. 20.6 percent vs. 12.2 percent.Food insecurity exists in every county in America. In 2011, 17.9 million households were food insecure.50.1 million Americans struggle to put food on the table.In the US, hunger isn’t caused by a lack of food, but rather the continued prevalence of poverty.More than 1 in 5 children is at risk of hungerAmong African-Americans and Latinos, it’s 1 in 3.Over 20 million children receive free or reduced-price lunch each school day. Less than half of them get breakfast and only 10 percent have access to summer feeding sites.For every 100 school lunch programs, there are only 87 breakfast sites and just 36 summer food programs.1 in 7 people are enrolled in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Nearly half of them are children.40 percent of food is thrown out in the US every year, or about $165 billion worth. All of this uneaten food could feed 25 million Americans.These seven states have statistically higher food insecurity rates than the US national average (14.7%):Mississippi (19.2%)Texas (18.5%)Arkansas (19.2%)Alabama (17.4%)Georgia (17.4%)Florida (16.2%)North Carolina (17.1%)Sources: Feeding America, Bread for the World, Yahoo News, SNAP to Healthhttps://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-hunger-us

Why aren’t there more black developers?I think a lot of this has to do with what part of the country you live in (assuming the OP is in America)For instance, the number of Black software engineers that I encounter in Atlanta, GA has dramatically increased during the course of my almost 20 years in the field.Now, I have worked at a few companies where almost half of the developers were Black. Of course, I have worked at many more companies were I was the sole Black developer. But still… I’m seeing progress.But to answer the question more directly, one of the things that we have to remember is that American schools weren’t desegregated until 1964. But of course, that was just a law that was passed. It took many many years for this to happen in actuality.Consider this timeline for a moment1963 62% of Americans — 73% of Northerners and 31% of Southerners — believe Blacks and Whites should attend the same schools.Two African American students, Vivian Malone and James A. Hood, successfully register at the University of Alabama despite George Wallace's "stand in the schoolhouse door" — but only after President Kennedy federalizes the Alabama National Guard.For the first time, a small number of black students in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Mississippi attend public elementary and secondary schools with white students.1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is adopted. Title IV of the Act authorizes the federal government to file school desegregation cases. Title VI of the Act prohibits discrimination in programs and activities, including schools, receiving federal financial assistance.The Rev. Bruce Klunder is killed protesting the construction of a new segregated school in Cleveland, Ohio.1968 The Supreme Court orders states to dismantle segregated school systems "root and branch." The Court identifies five factors — facilities, staff, faculty, extracurricular activities and transportation — to be used to gauge a school system's compliance with the mandate of Brown. (Green v. County School Board of New Kent County)In a private note to Justice Brennan, Justice Warren writes: "When this opinion is handed down, the traffic light will have changed from Brown to Green. Amen!"1969 The Supreme Court declares the "all deliberate speed" standard is no longer constitutionally permissible and orders the immediate desegregation of Mississippi schools. (Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education)1971 The Court approves busing, magnet schools, compensatory education and other tools as appropriate remedies to overcome the role of residential segregation in perpetuating racially segregated schools. (Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenberg Board of Education)1972 The Supreme Court refuses to allow public school systems to avoid desegregation by creating new, mostly or all-white "splinter districts." (Wright v. Council of the City of Emporia; United States v. Scotland Neck City Board of Education)Brown's legacy extends to gender. Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 is passed prohibiting sex discrimination in any educational program that receives federal financial assistance.1973 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is passed prohibiting schools from discriminating against students with mental or physical impairments.The Supreme Court rules that states cannot provide textbooks to racially segregated private schools to avoid integration mandates. (Norwood v. Harrison)The Supreme Court finds that the Denver school board intentionally segregated Mexican American and black students from white students. (Keyes v. Denver School District No. 1)The Court distinguishes between state-mandated segregation (de jure) and segregation that is the result of private choices (de facto). The latter form of segregation, the Court rules, is not unconstitutionalThe Supreme Court rules that education is not a "fundamental right" and that the Constitution does not require equal education expenditures within a state. (San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez) The ruling has the effect of locking minority and poor children who live in low-income areas into inferior schools.1974 The Supreme Court blocks metropolitan-wide desegregation plans as a means to desegregate urban schools with high minority populations. (Milliken v. Bradley) As a result, Brown will not have a substantial impact on many racially isolated urban districts.Non-English-speaking Chinese students file suit against the San Francisco Unified School District for failing to provide instruction to those with limited English proficiency. The Supreme Court rules that the failure to do so violates Title VI's prohibition of national origin, race or color discrimination in school districts receiving federal funds. (Lau v. Nichols)1978 A fractured Supreme Court declares the affirmative action admissions program for the University of California Davis Medical School unconstitutional because it set aside a specific number of seats for black and Latino students. The Court rules that race can be a factor in university admissions, but it cannot be the deciding factor. (Regents of the University of California v. Bakke)1982 The Supreme Court rejects tax exemptions for private religious schools that discriminate. (Bob Jones University v. U.S.; Goldboro Christian Schools v. U.S.)1986 For the first time, a federal court finds that once a school district meets the Greenfactors, it can be released from its desegregation plan and returned to local control. (Riddick v. School Board of the City of Norfolk, Virginia)1988 School integration reaches its all-time high; almost 45% of black students in the United States are attending majority-white schools.Look at all the turmoil going on with school desegregation in the 1970s.While people were still fighting over this, Black people were still attending schools that were under-funded and giving sub-par education. This was a known issue. The Black schools had outdated books, didn’t have funding for technology related course or the teachers to teach them.So this negates damn near every person of color from the technology industry for anyone in their late 30s on up. Most of the people you find in the field within these age groups were either.Able to live in a mixed communityIn the militaryHad a parent who got into the field because they were in the militaryHad fairly wealthy parentsI was personally lucky enough to have a father who worked on missile guidance systems in the Air Force, moved on to work at Burroughs corporation/Unisys and later started his own business that was technology related.Because I certainly didn’t learn anything in middle or high school that would’ve led me into this field.As an example. My middle school technology courses involved learning how to use a type writer. In high school, I learned about the history of computers and how to play games (not make them) on their outdated computers (of course, I knew this already… so I learned nothing). Oh, and we learned how to use WordStar & WordPerfect and how to make a resume.Nothing about building or repairing a computer and certainly nothing about programming one.And I took every tech course available to me at those schools.But at the house, we had several computers that my brother and I personally built; and a training facility my father owned (to train his clients) with another 30 computers to play with.I learned how to build web sites and desktop apps for some of our clients.That’s what started me on this path.How many Black people would you imagine were this lucky? Not many.So the number of Black developers my age or older is actually very impressive, when you consider what they had to go through to get to this point.And I’m seeing more and more young Black developers each year.Thanks for the A2A.