Menu

Resources

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.

Featured
The U.S. Supreme Court building against a blue sky, overlaid with a map of Louisiana and a chain of "I Voted" sticker footprints being cut by scissors on either side

Voting Rights and Representation in the Aftermath of Louisiana v. Callais

This brief examines what the Supreme Court's Callais decision means for communities of color, what has already changed in its wake, and what reforms — from state voting rights acts to proportional representation — can meet this moment.

Policy Briefs
Angelo Ancheta
Cover of 'Solving the Affordability Crisis' by People's Action and Dēmos: a rising staircase of icons representing groceries, health care, energy, housing, and child care, each topped with dollar bills."

Solving the Affordability Crisis

The affordability crisis is the result of policy choices — and different choices can reverse it. This report from Dēmos and People's Action traces why housing, utilities, food, health care, and child care have become unaffordable, and five structural solutions for building a people-powered, racially just economy.

Policy Briefs
Demos
People's Action
A Black care worker in scrubs reviews a clipboard with an older Black woman seated on a couch. In the background, composite images show caregivers working with children and supporting elderly adults, overlaid with illustrated icons representing justice, economic opportunity, and care.

Empowering Care Workers: The Key to a Better Care Economy

Good care jobs are the foundation of a good care economy. Empowering care workers through better pay, stronger protections, and collective voice would improve care quality, reduce workforce shortages, and advance racial and economic equity.

Policy Briefs
Nick Wertsch

State Guaranteed Retirement Accounts

Our nation is on the brink of a retirement crisis that could have severe consequences for both future retirees and society as a whole. The steady erosion in the voluntary employer-sponsored retirement system has made it more difficult for workers to save for retirement. This crisis will not only
Research
Teresa Ghilarducci
Robert Hiltonsmith
Lauren Schmitz

State Guaranteed Retirement Accounts: Summary

The share of workers without any retirement plan at work has risen dramatically over the past decade. The percentage of workers whose employer did not sponsor any type of retirement plan rose from 39 percent to 47 percent—a 21 percent increase.1 This alarming trend is a call to action for state and
Policy Briefs
Teresa Ghilarducci
Robert Hiltonsmith

New Mexico's Rising Economic Risks From Climate Change

New Mexico’s current political leadership is undoing state and regional policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions even as the risks posed by global warming to the state’s economy and population become more evident.[1] Experts foresee even more difficult problems in the future unless steps are
Research

Economic Recovery and Social Investment: A Strategy to Create Good Jobs in the Service Sector

Today’s prolonged economic slump is fundamentally different from an ordinary recession. In the aftermath of a severe financial collapse, an economy is at risk of succumbing to a prolonged deflationary undertow. With asset prices reduced, the financial system damaged, unemployment high, consumer
Policy Briefs

Retail's Hidden Potential

How Raising Wages Would Benefit Workers, the Industry and the Overall Economy

Research
Catherine Ruetschlin

Democracy at Stake: Political Equality in the Super PAC Era

The extent of the money in politics problem, how we got here (from a legal perspective), and what we can do to create a democracy in which the strength of a citizen’s voice does not depend on the size of her wallet. 

Research
Adam Lioz
Liz Kennedy

2012 Election Lessons Learned

How Voters Stood Up Against  Suppression, ID, and Intimidation

Policy Briefs
Tova Wang

Election Spending 2012: Post-Election Analysis of Federal Election Commission Data

In 2012, just 61 large donors to Super PACs giving an average of $4.7 million each matched the $285.2 million in grassroots contributions from more than 1,425,500 small donors to the major party presidential candidates.

Policy Briefs
Adam Lioz
Blair Bowie

Employment Credit Checks: The Case for Requiring Employers to Use More Accurate and Fair Assessments

A core value of American society is the opportunity to work hard and get ahead. Yet today in the United States, willing job-seekers are facing a new barrier to employment—credit checks. Despite the lack of evidence connecting people’s credit histories to their on-the-job performance, a 2010 survey
Policy Briefs
Ben Peck

Election Spending 2012: A Pre-Election Analysis of Federal Election Commission Data

Outside spending organizations reported $1.11 billion in spending to the FEC through the final reporting deadline in the 2012 cycle. That’s already a 200% increase over total 2008 outside spending.

Policy Briefs
Adam Lioz
Blair Bowie