*Long deep sigh*

I have practiced primarily personal injury law for nearly twenty years in a below average income community, with a below average of average clientel. I can assure you that minimum wage earners of any race [aggravated by language barriers here, however] get hurt at far greater rates than white boys that went to SMU. Unfortunately, we also have among the highest rates of high school failure and teenage pregnancy. They all go together: failure of education, lifetime menial labor, early pregnancy, and thus the cycle of poverty continues. Don't even start talking about substances, licit and illicit. I also have personal experience with a family that ran through $1.8 million dollars in one year with the 'guidance' of their pastor. I am not a fan of organized religion.

My personal observations: good primary education is the best predictor of success in life. I've seen lots of kids that didn't have a statistical chance in hell wind up doing quite well because they had a teacher early-on that gave a rats ass. If you can get a little kid started to enjoy learning, he'll overcome a lot to keep on learning.

Money does not equate to good schools, but if the schools are chronically underfunded, not to mention dangerous, you have a worse chance on getting and keeping good teachers.