1/22/2015
By Charles Payne, CEO & Principal Analyst

A shocker of news has not gotten the kind of attention it should have received. For the first time in 50 years, a majority of public school students, Pre-K to 12th grade are eligible for federal programs, such as free and reduced food.

Most are in the south and west. However, for me, the news should be the ultimate indictment against policies so focused on destruction of wealth; the ladder of success has been sawed in half.

Of course, the spin is the exact opposite, and will be the clarion call for an unfair nation that spends too little on young poor people- especially children. While some poor schools get less money than the national average, the average amount spent in America rivals that of other developed nations, while teacher pay dwarfs almost all other nations. 

It goes without saying that without an educated workforce, America cannot remain on top. Educating our children has to be a top priority. Yesterday, on CNBC Jamie Dimon, actually took it a step further saying that the high number of inner city and minority students who do not graduate is America's biggest sin. 

Our nation's dropout rate has actually come down a lot in the past dozen years. Moreover, I agree, it is a shame and heartbreaking, but we cannot blame the situation on the entire country. The "Sin" has to be centered in the home, although all Americans should lend a hand if possible fixing this problem.

I get where it is nice to have computers and white boards in your school, but it is a cop-out for not excelling.

Right now, state and federal governments spend $500 billion on educating poor students, and the Obama administration is looking for a few more billion. Why not tighten up the ship- the money is already there.

Moreover, improper payments to federal programs approach $100 billion, with the second highest percentage of misallocated money in the school lunch program. 

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Charles Payne
Wall Street Strategies

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