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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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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

Strengthen The Right Of Working People To Organize

Unions were instrumental in creating the American middle class, and today they continue to empower millions of Americans to bargain for wages and benefits that are capable of sustaining a middle-class standard of living.

Policy Briefs
Amy Traub
Tamara Draut
David Callahan

Federal Reserve Mandate For Full Employment

Support for Growth, Job Creation, and Career Development

Policy Briefs
Amy Traub
Tamara Draut
David Callahan

A Homeowners' Loan Corporation For The 21st Century

Home ownership is commonly understood as the quintessential marker of having arrived in the middle class: a family’s home is often the single largest asset that they own and has traditionally served as an important vehicle for wealth accumulation and economic security. 

Policy Briefs
Amy Traub
Tamara Draut
David Callahan

Fairness In Bankruptcy Act

Household debt is burdening millions of families and stifling economic growth in the nation as a whole. In the first half of 2011, 11 million American households – more than one in five homeowners – owed more on their mortgages than their homes were worth.1 Millions of families have already lost
Policy Briefs
Amy Traub
Tamara Draut
David Callahan

Texas’ Investment in Higher Education Lags Behind Student Needs and Workforce Demands

Just as postsecondary education has expanded opportunities for good jobs and entry into the middle class, college costs are rising beyond the reach of many Americans. State policy decisions are largely responsible for this major cost shift onto students and families. Public investment in higher
Policy Briefs
Center for Public Policy Priorities

Florida’s Great Cost Shift: How Higher Education Cuts Undermine Its Future Middle Class

Just as a postsecondary education has become essential for getting a decent job and entering the middle class, it has become financially out of reach for many of America’s young people. State support for higher education has decreased considerably over the past twenty years, while financial aid

Policy Briefs
Viany Orozco

Millions to the Middle

14 Big Ideas to Build a Strong & Diverse Middle Class

Policy Briefs
David Callahan
Tamara Draut

Background on Delgado v. Galvin Interim Settlement

The Massachusetts lawsuit alleges that the Commonwealth failed to provide required voter registration services at public assistance offices, a violation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA). 

Policy Briefs

Million-Dollar Megaphones: Super PACs and Unlimited Outside Spending in the 2012 Elections

Super PACs have fast become a favored tool for wealthy individuals and interests to drown out the voices of average citizens. 

Research
Adam Lioz
Blair Bowie

Taking Back Our Democracy: Responding to Citizens United and the Rise of Super PACs

Thank you for this opportunity to submit testimony regarding the damage that Citizens United and the rise of Super PACs has done to our system of democratic government.  In the text below I will discuss why rules that govern the role of money in politics are important to our democracy; the impact of

Testimony and Public Comment
Adam Lioz