Daily Dime

A new study of senior hunger in America commissioned by Feeding America found that rates of senior food insecurity decline as the population ages. But this statistic is not as hopeful as it sounds. The fact that life expectancy drops as poverty increases suggests that America is not more successful at helping older Americans, but rather that poor Americans, who are far more likely than rich Americans to be food insecure, are less likely to live to see older ages.… Read more...

The Senate Finance Committee meets Friday to hear testimony from the public, and on Memorial Day the panel is expected to put its mark on the $30 billion state operating budget. One of the biggest questions for policymakers is how much money should go to subsidized early care and education programs for young children.… Read more...

It may be 50 years since Brown v. Board of Education, but the inequity that stems from Louisiana’s segregated past continues in the state’s schools today. In East Baton Rouge Parish, a small area comprised of 70% white residents will vote in October whether to create the breakaway city of St.… Read more...

Louisiana’s budget is in better shape than it has been in recent years. But the state still doesn’t allocate nearly enough money to its youngest children, whose fast-developing brains could benefit from high-quality early childhood education that is financially out of reach for most low-income parents.… Read more...