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From cutting-edge policy research to illuminating analysis, we bring a racial equity lens to the most pressing issues facing our country. For our latest blog posts and media updates, visit our Media page.

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A family smiling at each other in the foreground with a row of houses in the background and a bar chart behind them showing the racial wealth gap with white households
Policy Briefs
Demos
New Economy Project

Public Banks for Racial Equity

How stark racial disparities have long pervaded our financial services system, fueling and entrenching inequality, and why public banks are a transformative, equitable alternative.

Department of Labor Public Comment to Establish Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors

Demos is a non-partisan public policy organization working for an America where we all have an equal say in our democracy and an equal chance in our economy. We were proud to be among the advocates who called for an executive order establishing paid sick leave for federal contractors. We write today
Testimony and Public Comment
Amy Traub

Bad Credit Shouldn't Block Employment: How to Make State Bans on Employment Credit Checks More Effective

This report examines the effectiveness of the employment credit check laws enacted so far and finds that unjustified exemptions included in the laws, a failure to pursue enforcement, and a lack of public outreach have prevented these important employment protections from being as effective as they

Research
Amy Traub
Sean McElwee

Our Voices, Our Democracy

On the verge of the most expensive election in U.S. history—and six years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizens United decision—Americans are demanding a government that is truly by the people, where every voice is heard and every vote counts.
Research
Our Partners

Designing Public Financing Systems to Advance Equity and Independent Political Power

Public financing of elections, as a state and local democracy reform, can help enhance the political voice and power of working-class people and people of color. It is an effective antidote to the outsized influence corporations and major donors currently have on both politics and policy.

Policy Briefs

Testimony to the New York Workforce Development Joint Budget Hearing on Paid Leave

Thank you, Members of the Workforce Development Joint Budget Hearing, for the opportunity to submit testimony in support of a strong paid family leave program in New York State.  My name is Amy Traub and I am a Senior Policy Analyst at Demos. Demos is a public policy organization working for an
Testimony and Public Comment
Amy Traub

Lagging on Leave: While Businesses Fall Short, New York State Can Become a Leader on Paid Family Leave

Key Facts
Policy Briefs
Amy Traub
Robert Hiltonsmith

Automatic Voter Registration: Finding America's Missing Voters

Our current voter registration system, which is designed as a voter-initiated or “self-registration” system, creates barriers to registration that do not serve any significant purpose in a democracy. Automatic voter registration is the answer.

Research
Liz Kennedy
Lew Daly
Brenda Wright

The Financial Infrastructure Exchange: From Short-Term Gains to Long-Term Needs

The Financial Infrastructure Exchange (FIX) is a federal tax-and-subsidy program to promote long-term investment in a financial system that otherwise prioritizes short-term gains. 

Research
Wallace C. Turbeville

Buckley v. Valeo at 40

Buckley v. Valeo is a January 30, 1976 Supreme Court case that struck down key pieces of Congress’ post-Watergate money in politics reforms, and set the structure of modern campaign finance law.

Research
Adam Lioz

Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Rescuing Our Democracy and Our Economy by Transforming the Supreme Court’s Flawed Approach to Money in Politics

“For let it be agreed that a government is republican in proportion as every member composing it has an equal voice in the direction of its concerns…”  Thomas Jefferson Letter to Samuel Kercheval, July 12, 1816

Research
Adam Lioz