Demos' Ideas & Action Blog

Where Do the Interests of Small Business Really Lie in the Health Care Debate?

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:02:00 EST

Last week the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the indisputably powerful small business association in Washington, sent a letter to House members informing them that the organization could not support a substantial role for government in administering American health care. Widely credited with helping to scuttle the Clinton health care plan when the subject was last on the national agenda, the NFIB has taken a stand against a 'public option' after months of supporting health care reform, but hedging its bets on the best way to achieve it. NFIB has also come out against requiring employers to provide health insurance for their workers or pay a fee to cover them.

Voting Rights Groups Sue Indiana and New Mexico for Neglecting Low-Income Voters

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:56:00 EST

Last week, voting rights groups--including Project Vote, Demos, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the NAACP, the ACLU of Indiana--and several pro bono law firms filed lawsuits on behalf of ACORN and individual plaintiffs against Indiana and New Mexico for gross violations of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), a federal law passed in 1993 requiring public assistance agencies and departments of motor vehicles to provide voter registration services. Research has shown that Indiana and New Mexico, among other states, have effectively deprived tens of thousans of citizens of the chance to register to vote.

Healthcare Coverage: When Will Something Be Better Than Nothing?

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:55:00 EST

An hour into Obama's town hall on health care reform, I was walking through Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Red Hook-- an area with one of the highest poverty rates in New York and estimated unemployment of around 20%--is a world away from the White House.

Red Hook inhabitants--who include residents of several large housing projects, artists and freelancers looking for cheap space, and working class families struggling to make their rent - have seen their community plastered with medium-sized posters in recent months offering an alternative to lack of health insurance.

The posters advertise a URL and toll-free number for an outfit called IHaveNoCoverage.com.

The Problem with "Recession Porn"

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:39:00 EST

Reading the New York Times, one could be forgiven for thinking that the well-heeled have suffered the most from the recession--we learn how "bankruptcies jolt a ski haven for the superrich" and why Ruth Madoff is the "loneliest woman in New York." Leave it to Barbara Ehrenreich to remind us of the deepening struggles of those who are "too poor to make the news." But the problem with "recession porn," as Ehrenreich and others have called it, goes far beyond the invisibility of poverty in the media's recession narrative. Recession porn deflects our attention away from the far more dire story of dwindling economic opportunity and mobility in America.

Senator McConnell: If the DMV is a Model for a Public Health Care Option, Sign Me Up.

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:45:00 EST

Cross-posted at OpenLeft.com

In a recent speech on health care reform on the Senate floor, Sen. Mitch McConnell argued that a 'public option' to compete with private insurers would result in a bureaucratic nightmare. Leaning on a tired rhetorical crutch, he said that Americans "don't want the people who brought us the Department of Motor Vehicles making life-and-death decisions for them."

The Senate minority leader is behind the times, repeating reflexively a Conservative talking point favored by Republican strategists and such commentators as Rush Limbaugh and Frank Pastore. This view of the DMV is behind the times, but it pervades our popular culture, to judge from the way Jay Leno, Jon Stewart and other late night comedians pick on the DMV whenever they want an easy laugh.

Recession Narrowing College Access for Low Incomes Students

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:50:00 EST

Cross-posted at WireTap Magazine

The silver lining of a recession could be that it incents people, particularly those who are unemployed, to return to school and upgrade their skills, or to finish degrees they started but never finished. For recent high school graduates, who face the highest unemployment rates of all age groups, going to college should be a no brainer. Our current financial aid system, however, leaves low income students with high levels of unmet need for their education. Therefore, a vast majority of them finance their education through work. Under double digit unemployment rates among young people, then, the flaws inherent in this financing model are glowing.

Public Assistance Agencies Fail to "Measure" Up

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:22:00 EST

Yale Law School professor Heather Gerken's new book, The Democracy Index: Why Our Election System is Failing and How to Fix It, has been receiving a good deal of attention in election reform circles recently.

And for good reason.

The book is an excellent read and presents a thoughtful, and highly workable, idea. While there are clearly some kinks that will need to be worked out, Gerken's plan has as its foundation an issue that should be of utmost importance to those interested in improving the democratic process: the need for accurate and reliable elections data. And nowhere is this need more apparent than in the field of public assistance voter registration.

Another Option to Paying Poor Countries to Fight Climate Change

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:36:00 EST

The New York Times blog, Green Inc. recently asked how much poor countries should be paid to fight climate change. Indeed, this is an important question, given the upcoming Copenhagen talks in December to renegotiate the Kyoto Protocol. It has been made clear by the United Nations Climate chief Yvo de Boer that,

"Without a clear commitment from industrialized countries to less developed countries, there will not be a deal at Copenhagen."

The fact that some sort of financial aid must be given to developing nations is irrefutable. The question is how much, and what form should it take?

Can't Buy Me Justice?

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:31:00 EST

When a company has a $50 million verdict against it hanging in the balance, and the chairman and principal officer of the company spends $3 million to help elect a judge to the court that will decide the case, can that judge render impartial justice in the case? Common sense says no, but until today the Supreme Court never had ruled that campaign spending to help elect a judge could create a Due Process violation when that judge then sits to decide his supporter’s case.

What's the Matter with Minnesota?

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:14:00 EST

The issue of voter registration continues to be as partisan an issue in the 2009 legislative sessions as it has been in recent years.

In Minnesota, Democrats passed bills at the end of session to automatically register eligible voters and inform felons of their reinstated right to vote, only to have the bills vetoed by Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty. It's hard to see a way off these pitched political battles anytime soon.

In California Fiscal Mess, Blame the Victims

Fri, 29 May 2009 12:12:00 EST

In a pair of troubling opinion pieces last week George Will and Newt Gingrich asserted that the fiscal mess in California is the fault of "huge government machines" and "California's unionized public employees..." Both declare that the failure of a set of ballot initiatives designed to help close the state's $21 billion deficit was a clear anti-tax, anti-government statement and the sign of things to come.

Among the many things troubling about these two pieces is that they themselves may be a hint of things to come--framing state budget troubles as the fault of government itself and public employees in particular. George Will states it bluntly, suggesting that any effort in California to raise taxes and modify the state's restrictive Prop 13 tax cap "would enable the legislature...to siphon away an ever-larger share of taxpayers' wealth and transfer it to public employees."

Some Sanity on Sotomayor, Please

Thu, 28 May 2009 11:49:00 EST

I would be thrilled if the Center for Competitive Politics' concerns--that Judge Sonia Sotomayor is willing to look out for the little guy in the political process by upholding campaign spending and low contribution limits--were on target.

Her concurrence in the denial of rehearing en banc of the case Landell v. Sorrell, however, says nothing about her opinions on campaign finance regulation--an issue whose outcome she will not affect given the current deregulatory majority on the Supreme Court--but rather shows Judge Sotomayor to be a level-headed jurist who is mindful of judicial restraint and deeply concerned that the judiciary not appear to be a partisan institution.

Law? What Law?

Fri, 15 May 2009 11:58:00 EST

In a recent article posted on National Review Online, Hans von Spakovsky, former counsel in the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice and current visiting legal scholar at the Heritage Foundation, claims it's liberal politics as usual at his old stomping grounds. In "Politics, What Politics?" von Spakovsky argues that the new administration's DOJ is making "purely political decisions," notably in its recent decision to "dismiss" a case filed under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) against Missouri for alleged failures to purge ineligible voters from the state's registration rolls.

First, the facts. DOJ didn't dismiss anything. The Bush administration filed suit against the state in 2005, the district court granted Missouri summary judgment, and the department appealed. On appeal, the Eighth Circuit found that remand to the district court was necessary to determine whether the state was conducting an appropriate purging program. Back at the district court, the judge decided against reopening discovery, as von Spakovsky admits.

Most Favored "Green" Nations

Wed, 06 May 2009 15:40:00 EST

A recent op-ed for the New York Times calls for a "green" trade system which would eliminate tariffs on clean technology products.

This proposal should be taken one step further.

Momentum Builds for Credit Card Reform

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:01:00 EST

Cross-posted at OpenLeft.com

Thursday, Obama, Summers, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett held a "pow-wow" with over a dozen executives from the major credit card issuers and networks to discuss lending practices that have roiled consumers and lawmakers.

(Some have compared this meeting to being called to the principal's office or taken out to the woodshed. One Republican credit card lobbyist told POLITICO, "the companies will get the s*** beat out of them by the President and Summers." We consumer advocates would love to get that much attention from the White House.)

New York Sets its Sights on EDR

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:10:00 EST

New York turns its attention to EDR this week, in hearings addressing a number of election reform proposals. Lawmakers there and elsewhere can champion Same Day Registration as a boon to both voters and election officials. It not only eases voter participation, but sharply reduces the need for provisional voting. Iowa and North Carolina, the newest Same Day Registration states, saw big declines in provisional balloting in the November 2008 presidential election.

College Students Engage in Exploitative Options to Fund Their Education

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:04:00 EST

Based on these facts, college students are graduating with an average of $25,000 in student loan debt and $3,173 in credit card debt. By the time they graduate, a number of college students will also have engaged in transactions such as those promoted by Seeking Arrangement to fund their education. The evidence could not be more revealing about the urgency of reforming the financial aid system and the credit card industries to ensure students do not find themselves in vastly unequal power situations.

Tough Economic Times are Nothing New for Communities of Color

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:21:00 EST

An Uphill Battle for Consumer Advocates

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:40:00 EST

The America News Project's timely new video "Credit Card Industry Defeated for Now" documents the historic "David vs. Goliath" battles faced by consumer advocates, including Demos, as they work to get a bill passed that would protect families from the abusive business tactics of the Credit Card industry. With Washington finally focused on protecting borrowers from such practices as universal default, consumer advocates must work even harder to ensure that the Credit industries' lobbyists do not derail efforts to provide consumers with the first real comprehensive legislative protections.

The President's Budget Plan on Education Alters Young People's Financial Future

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:55:00 EST

By making Pell Grants an entitlement, Congress would be required to uphold this commitment of aid to students every year, eliminating the uncertainty about the availability and amount of funds eligible students can expect to receive. These changes, which increase the amount and predictability of aid in the short and long term, would reduce the debt many low and moderate income students incur to finance their education.

Cash for Trash Redux?

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:02:00 EST

With leading economists deriding Geithner's Plan, here's a sample of what some of Demos' experts are saying about it.

Open Government Initiative Moves Ahead

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:58:00 EST

Recently, Demos' President Miles Rapoport was invited by Beth Noveck, director of the White House's open government initiative, to be one of 12 participants in an informal discussion and listening session on the President's Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government.

Mixed Job Prospects for College Grads

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:59:00 EST

The bad news is that 2009 college graduates will have a harder time finding a job, but the good news is they may find one in the public sector.

Employee Free Choice Act Re-Introduced in Congress

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:25:00 EST

So begins the legislative wrangling over the Employee Free Choice Act, re-introduced today by both houses, and examined in a Senate HELP Committee hearing on "Empowering Workers to Restore the Middle Class."

Achieving Diversity at Public Universities Lies Beyond Recruitment Strategies

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:49:00 EST

In addition to recruitment strategies, then, policymakers concerned about disconcerting trends on income and racial & ethnic diversity might want to focus their attention on programs implemented by Oklahoma and Indiana.

Prosperity Watch: Quick Hits for Monday, March 9

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:12:00 EST

A roundup of the latest economic headlines.

Tax Relief, Debt Relief

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 10:54:00 EST

Read it on AlterNet

The money dedicated to infrastructure work, a green economy and job creation should go far in addressing the long term needs of American families. However, the tax relief set aside to stimulate the economy now will not provide the injection needed to stabilize the household economy through increased spending power, so that families can close the gap between income and expenses. Rather like the $150 billion stimulus package provided to taxpayers by former President Bush, this program--while differentiated in that it realized in pretty small payroll tax reductions--really won't provide relief for cash-strapped Americans who already rely on debt to get by.

Open Budgets, Open Governments

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 02:59:00 EST

Last week, an important event took place in the generations-spanning enterprise of promoting democracy around the world. On February 1st, the International Budget Partnership released its 2008 Open Budget Survey, a report on the transparency to citizens of budget processes in 81 countries. National budgets are the CT-scans of governments; they provide fine-grained images of what is going on in otherwise obscure processes.

Voter Fraud Faux

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 02:55:00 EST

How much longer are conservative lawmakers going to justify pushing the same old regressive policies, such as voter ID at the polls, by advancing stale and debunked arguments, like this overblown notion of voter fraud?

Still Dreaming of Economic Equality

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:02:00 EST

It cannot be said enough that the Presidential inauguration was a historic moment for America and the world. The election of the first African American to our highest office suggests a sense of cohesiveness and inclusion in the racial fabric of our country that the previous generation only dreamed of.

Congress Should Make the Tax Credit for College Students Fully Refundable

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST

Government deserves praise for recognizing the dire circumstances facing already strapped public institutions of higher education, debt burdened students, and soon to be college students whose families' savings have significantly declined.

Don't Mess with Texas Voter-ID Laws

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 15:45:00 EST

Not yet a year since the Supreme Court sanctioned Indiana's voter ID law, the Texas Senate, on January 14, 2009, doctored its own rules to ready itself for passage of a bill requiring voters to present government-issued photo-identification before casting ballots at the polls.

Not Hitting Where it Hurts: Unaffordable Mortgages

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:44:00 EST

The past week brought another bruising round in the ongoing heavyweight grudge match of Federal Government vs. Economic Crisis. On Thursday, Congress delivered a massive one-two combo when the Senate voted to release the second half of the (wildly unpopular) $700 billion bailout and the House unveiled an $875 billion package of tax cuts and stimulus spending.

The two programs aim to boost every corner of the US economy--from Wall Street to Route 66. But neither one includes a long sought-after change that many say would attack the very heart of the economic turmoil: unaffordable mortgages.

Housekeeping at the Department of Justice

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:42:00 EST

A new report released today by the Department of Justice found that between 2001 and 2007 a high-level Department official routinely based hiring decisions and case assignments in the Civil Rights Division on partisan and ideological affiliations, both violations of civil service laws. During this same time period, Department officials repeatedly ignored evidence of voting rights violations presented to them by Demos and our partners.

Barack Obama, Meet Ann Coulter

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:16:00 EST

On Monday, Ann Coulter and Barack Obama unknowingly teamed up to raise an important question about style versus substance.

Priceless Debt

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST

At the beginning of the new year the Federal Reserve announced that in November of 2008 credit card debt totaled $973.5 billion--a decrease of 3.4 percent from October 2008. While that may sound like some good news for consumers, the numbers fail to reflect the debt that has already been written off the books and landed into the debt collection market. The third quarter of 2008 reported the highest credit card write-offs since 2002. While not all this debt will be passed onto debt collectors, enough of it will be snapped up by debt junk buyers to expose consumers to the unscrupulous and minimally regulated world of debt collection.

Make Room for North Carolina

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:26:00 EST

For years, we at Demos have touted the six original Same Day Registration-states as "Exhibit A" in the benefits of liberalized voter registration.

Make room for North Carolina.

Now That We All Agree That We Need Consumer Protection In The Credit Card Market, Let's Make It Happen Already

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:57:00 EST

As the financial sector continues to reap the consequences of the subprime debacle, banks are taking steps to increase profits on credit cards in order to cover losses in other areas. On September 28th, the Wall Street Journal reported that "credit-card issuers have been decreasing credit limits in the wake of the subprime meltdown. Folks with good credit scores and solid credit histories are now getting caught in the fray."

Credit Card Regulation: A Holiday Gift to be Opened in 2010

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:36:00 EST

Consumers received an early holiday present this year from the Federal Reserve Board in the form of new regulations for the credit card industry.

Demos to Release a Guide to Implementing EDR in Early January

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:01:00 EST

Since the 2004 presidential elections, three states have implemented Election Day Registration (EDR). A number of states considered EDR proposals last year and the expectation is that EDR bills will be introduced in over 20 states in 2009.

Yet Another Election Decided by Provisional Ballots...

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:50:00 EST

In yet another election decided by provisional ballots--ballots of last resort given to individuals whose names are not on the voter rolls--Democrat Mary-Jo Kilroy defeated her opponent, Republican Steve Stivers, for Ohio's 15th District congressional seat by a margin of 2,311 votes. Luckily, Kilroy's margin of victory was larger than the approximately 1,000 provisional ballots in Franklin County ordered to be rejected in a recent decision of the Ohio Supreme Court. These ballots were discarded on technicalities even though all 1,000 voters were eligible and properly registered to vote.

Public Funding of Elections in New Hampshire

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:35:00 EST

Obscured by the stunning $750 million raised by the Obama campaign is the compelling and continuing case for public financing of elections. Because while the President-elect was able to inspire millions of donors, most candidates continue to struggle to raise adequate funds. New Hampshire is the latest state to weigh in on public financing.

Paying the Price for High Costs of Higher Ed

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:45:00 EST

A new report, Measuring Up 2008, provides new evidence that the cost of higher education is out of reach for far too many families. The report finds that tuition costs have not only significantly outpaced income growth, but have grown more quickly than health care costs (page 8 of this report). The result is rising debt burdens for students--averaging $21,000 in 2007--and declining access to higher education for students from low-income families. Rising college costs, combined with dwindling financial aid, has reversed the educational progress the United States made in the post-war period.

Credit Card Deregulation, Rest in Peace

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:04:00 EST

Credit card debt has been continuously increasing for decades. As families try to deal with higher costs of living and stagnant or declining wages compounded by a deregulated credit card market--one that has allowed "tricks and traps" in the form of business practices--families have been pushed to take on greater credit card debt.

Our Brand of Capitalism

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:13:00 EST

The past week in America will be marked by two events, one grim and one tragic, that confirmed the experiences and feelings of most Americans long before the news hit the papers or the airwaves. I am referring to the official announcement that the country is in a deep recession, and the death of Jdimytai Damour, who was killed by a stampede of shoppers while working at Wal-Mart the day after Thanksgiving.

The Fragility of Hope: Safeguarding the Promise of Meaningful Change with a New Politics

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:47:00 EST

We are living through a promising, but fragile, moment in American history.

The public appears willing to suspend--at least temporarily--the cynicism with which it has viewed government and public officials. People are tentatively hopeful that they are witnessing the beginning of an era when elected officials will engage in effective problem-solving, setting aside the strident partisan squabbling and entrenched polar positions that people believe have stymied constructive action on health care, infrastructure, climate change, and other crucial issues.

Significant Legal Victory in Ohio

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:57:00 EST

There is good news just in time for Thanksgiving--the 6th Circuit has issued a terrific decision in our long-running case, League of Women Voters of Ohio v. Brunner. This is a very significant legal victory, finding that our allegations growing out of the serious problems with the 2004 election in Ohio, and deficiencies in the state's overall system of election administration going back decades, state a claim under the Equal Protection Clause and substantive Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Building Consensus for Universal Voter Registration

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:22:00 EST

Each recent presidential election has highlighted serious shortcomings in election administration. Voter registration was the big story this year. Millions of excited and eligible would-be voters could not cast ballots for the simple fact that they were not registered to vote. Their voter registration applications got lost in the avalanche of forms that buried local elections offices. They'd moved and not re-registered at their new addresses. Or they just didn't think about registering before registration deadlines passed. Voter registration was the number one problem logged by the Election Protection Campaign and its 1-866-Our-Vote voter hotline this year.

Did Same Day Registration Tip The Election in North Carolina?

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:37:00 EST

The numbers and the closeness of the vote say so: in its first year as law, Same Day Voter Registration led to 91,736 voter registrations and votes cast at early voting sites. Beyond that, 95,904 residents updated their name and addresses on the voting rolls using the Same Day Registration one-stop process.

Election Protection Redux

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:55:00 EST

We're almost three weeks past Election Day. The dust is settling, but election-day success stories still trickle in. We've heard that millions voted in record numbers, minority turnout increased, and youth came out in droves.

A Fallible Fail-Safe, Indeed

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:54:00 EST

Not surprisingly, the unprecedented numbers of provisional ballots cast in the 2008 election have become the focus of litigation that will likely determine the winner of a Congressional seat and two State House seats in Ohio.

Do GOP lawmakers REALLY want to end Same-Day Registration AND voting?

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:12:00 EST

A Demos colleague, Scott Novakowski, has pointed out the Onion-like quality of a recent AP headline: "GOP lawmakers want to end same-day registration, voting."

Just a humorous mistake in grammar? They don't really want to end voting AND same-day registration too?

It's Time for a NEW New Deal

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:36:00 EST

Cross-Posted from the Fox Forum Blog

The U.S. government has simply thrown money at our current financial crisis, rather than solving it. We should be reviving President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal policies, which eased the immediate crisis of the Depression and installed lasting solutions.

A Blueprint for Democratic Renewal

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:28:00 EST

These are exciting times for those of us committed to a re-energized democracy. But now that the elections are over, we all need to turn to the task of what comes next. In July, Demos joined with AmericaSpeaks and Everyday Democracy to host a gathering of fifty thinkers, writers, and advocates to chart out a comprehensive democracy reform agenda.

Dodging a Bullet

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:13:00 EST

The whistling noise you hear going by your ears is the bullet we have just collectively dodged. I write this the day after the elections. The stories we're all reading in the papers and on the blogs are about how generally, the elections went well yesterday. And that's true. But the key word is "generally". Had the vote been closer in a few key places, we would today be in the mire of post-election litigation with charges and counter-charges flying every way, and renewed doubts about the reliability of America's elections.

An Extraordinary Day for America

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 10:12:00 EST

I woke up this morning feeling an enormous sense of pride. I am deeply proud of President-Elect Obama. He ran a campaign that was so much more than political strategy. He inspired people to vote, to volunteer, to contribute, to engage civically in a way that seemed all but impossible just moments ago. All of us at Demos applaud him, and we look forward to working with him as he confronts the incredible array of challenges that our country faces.

Our Inadequate Patchwork Quilt of Registration Processes

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:00:00 EST

Here we go again. Through the fog of emerging reports about administrative and voting rights problems voters face this year one thing should be painfully clear: We simply must get America's voter registration house in order. Again in 2008, in spite of valiant efforts by many and many thousands of hours put in by election officials and voter rights organizations, legitimate voters are once again being thwarted at the polls.

The Next Step

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:14:00 EST

With five days to go until this extraordinary exercise in democratic selection is completed, it is simply astonishing to see the level of excitement, voting, activity, argumentation, and anxiety all at the same time. As a former Secretary of the State, my overwhelming reaction is pride at how much the future of our country clearly matters to Americans of all ages, races, and geographies. In 2004, over 123 million people voted in the presidential election. This year, we could see 135 million, 140 million, or even more. It's truly remarkable.

The Fix We're In

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:33:00 EST

If I had to choose one word to describe the financial situation confronting the United States, it'd likely be "outrageous". It's outrageous that we find ourselves forced to spend billions of dollars to clean up another speculative bubble created by Wall Street...

Cross-posted from CommonWealth Unbound

Election Protection 2008 Launched

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:52:00 EST

The nonpartisan Election Protection coalition--more than 100 local, state and national partners formed to ensure that all voters have an equal opportunity to participate in the political process--has launched the 2008 Election Protection Hotline and website.

Four Weeks on Knife's Edge

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:52:00 EST

With exactly four weeks to go, this election season seems poised on a precipice almost any way you look at it. These could be the best of times or worst of times, and that's just between now and Election Day. Here are just a few examples:

Finally, The Card Companies Lose in Congress

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:58:00 EST

This Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights (HR 5244) that would curb some of the industry's most common and most egregious practices. It's the first piece of legislation passed by either house in Congress that restricts the lending practices of the credit card companies.

The final vote was 312-112, with 84 Republicans joining the Democrats to stand up for consumers, who have increasingly piled up credit card debt to deal with rising costs. This bill is especially important for young people, who increasingly start their adult lives mired in high cost credit card debt. College graduates leave school with just under $3,000 in credit card debt, often racked up to pay for tuition, books and other essentials. By the time they reach their mid- to late-twenties, that figure can easily double, and then spiral upward as the card companies tack on fees and find new ways to raise interest rates.

Here's how the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights will keep more of your hard-earned pay in your pocket.