As President Obama enters his second-term, over 46 million Americans are living in poverty. With a campaign dedicated to rejuvenating the economy and his administration’s recent focus on the “fiscal cliff”, some are worried that the president is overlooking poverty. Here is what experts are saying about the issue of poverty in 2013:

Graduation from high school is not only a rite of passage, it is the ticket to economic prosperity and quality of life. The formula is simple: High school graduates are more employable, healthier and more likely to have health insurance, all of which positively contribute to our economy.

But here’s the flip side of that formula: New graduation data show glaring achievement gaps for students of color and economically disadvantaged students.

The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., brought the nation together in grief. Like all-too-many similar occurrences in this nation’s history, it has also reignited a debate on gun control laws. Here is a round up of what experts of color are saying about gun violence and how what happened in Newtown is an unfortunate example of why gun control reform is imperative.

When Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School, he was carrying a Bushmaster .223 caliber Remington semiautomatic.  This is the frightening weapon he used to take the lives of 27 people:

The refrain — “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” — does an injustice to the complicated homotechnocultural phenomenon that we call a massacre.

1961 produced some classics, such as Paul Newman in The Hustler, Ray Charles singing “Hit the Road Jack,” and Barbie’s Ken. It also produced an American vision of foreign aid.

I will never forget the time when I visited my parent's church on "Diabetes Sunday," a program of the American Diabetes Association to raise awareness about the disease within the African-American community. A brochure in the church bulletin highlighted the dangers and prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the African-American community and how obesity is a causal factor. After the service, we made our way to the fellowship hall to celebrate Black History Month. As we began to chow down on unhealthy foods and sugary drinks, nobody blinked at the hypocrisy.

In the mind’s eye, in the press, in the common vernacular, the African American man is not a responsible parent as there are so many single women raising the children alone, in poverty. Often children are raising their siblings while the mother works, but we rarely think or speak of them. To understand how we came to this place it is necessary to take a trip back to the future.

Dear former Senator Alan Simpson,

I've seen you on television chatting up your debt reduction proposal with Jon Stewart of the Daily Show, Savannah Guthrie of the Today Show and Bob Schieffer of Face the Nation. And while you come across as a likable guy, your claim to be working on behalf of the next generation of young Americans is bogus. Here's why.

You see, your argument rests on a big myth: that in order to save Social Security and Medicare for the young, you have to cut our benefits. This couldn't be further from the truth. There are fairer ways to ensure that these pillars of American progress stand the test of time. One option includes making wealthy individuals pay more by lifting Social Security's cap on wages, currently set at $110,100.