Thanks for the link Visagoth. Imagine, a law needed to tell parents they must provide a few of their children's items in school. Wonder how many of the kids (even in low-income areas) have cell phones, video games etc? One teacher here in WA told me that some categories of minority, low-income parents (isn't that clever how I couched that?) are the ones who can't provide socks, new shoes, or school supplies - but have no trouble coming up with $200 for a prom dress. "It's cultural" she said. Well, it certainly is true that the poorer you are, the better your buying choices had better be.
My daughter taught in an inner city grade school a few years back. She said a lot of the kids didn't have underwear, but then they'd have $100 sneakers. For so many people, it's a matter of priorities.