The New York State Senate Committee on Elections began a series of public hearings on a package of election reform proposals.
The second hearing — taking place in New York City — includes testimony showing the potential for increased voter turnout from Same Day Registration, by Steven Carbo, Senior Program Director in the Democracy Program.
The Galtists tend to end up in long arguments with their opposites: the Rawlsian liberals who believe life is luck, and so too with the bulk of achievement. Impressive as a corporate titan may appear, his success is truly testament to a thousand variables far outside his control. Good genes and attentive parents and a smart peer group and a legacy admission to Yale and perfect timing and much else.
On Tuesday, Sallie Mae reported that student debt over the past four years has been rising faster than blood alcohol levels at a beer pong tournament. Student debt shot up 44 percent over the past four years, with the average senior now carrying a $4,100 load. It only looks to be getting worse. The average freshman already has $2,000 worth of red. That's on top of the roughly $20,000 they'll have in other college-related debt.
Washington, DC — Federal managers and staff from 23 different agencies and offices across the federal government recommended that the President's Open Government Directive create a new government-wide structure that will transform how the government involves the American people in key decision making in a new report, called "Champions of Participation." While most conversation about the President's commitment to open government has focused on transparency and technology, federal managers urged the task force spearheading the effort to incorporate reforms that enable meaningful face-to-face
Dear Representative and member of the Financial Services Committee:
The undersigned consumer, civil rights, small business, investor, community and labor organizations representing tens of millions of Americans strongly urge you to vote for H.R. 627, the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act (Rep. Maloney), when it is brought to a committee vote as early as this Wednesday, 1 April 2009. The bill passed the House on an overwhelming 312-112 vote, as HR 5244, in September 2008. It enjoys broad public support.
The moral question is, who owns knowledge? Or who should own knowledge? Put another way, if most of our wealth comes from inherited knowledge — not what we do "today" — then isn't this part of our wealth, this knowledge, something which rightly should belong to everyone as a common inheritance?
Gar Alperovitz and Lew Daly provide progressives with some welcome and fresh ammunition for fighting back and for justifying a redistributionist agenda in their new book, Unjust Deserts. Alperovitz and Daly are attempting nothing less than to shift the entire framework for our thinking about distributive justice.
But with so many women joining the work force, other expenses have skyrocketed for middle-class families, who have bid up prices for things like a home in a safe neighborhood with good schools. Other expenses in a dual-earner family -- including child care, an extra car for mom to go to work and rising college costs -- have gobbled up nearly all of the gains in salary, some argue.
Demos submitted this testimony from Demos President Miles Rapoport to the House Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, highlighting the denial of voter registration opportunities for low-income voters and veterans, and underscoring the continued systemic problems with the voter registration in the U.S.
New York, NY — This week Demos, a national, non-partisan public policy research and advocacy center, is pleased to announce two significant staffing changes:
Tamara Draut has been named Vice President for Policy and Programs, joining Demos President Miles Rapoport in the executive leadership of the organization. Previously, she served for nearly eight years as Director of the Economic Opportunity Program at Demos, where she oversaw research, policy and advocacy efforts on issues related to economic security and mobility in America's households.
Young adults between ages 19 and 29 make up the largest portion of uninsured in the United States, totaling about 13.2 million in 2007. That's right--young adults make up more than one-fourth of uninsured Americans.
This important cover story from the Detroit Metro Times sheds light on the predicament faced by so many young adults.
Allegra Chapman, Counsel in the Democracy Program, delivers testimony on the benefits of Election Day Registration before the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee of the Maryland General Assembly.
New York, NY — Demos, a national, non-partisan public policy research and advocacy center, is pleased to announce the addition of two new members to its fellows program.
The Contract for College would unify the existing three strands of federal financial aid — grants, loans and work-study — into a coherent, guaranteed financial aid package for students.
Initiative Aims to Strengthen Social Insurance, Promote Broadly Shared Prosperity, Set the Record Straight on Federal Spending
New York — Demos and The Century Foundation today launched an initiative to strengthen social insurance programs and develop a roadmap for a fair and responsible federal budget. The project gets underway as the White House prepares for its February 23 "Fiscal Responsibility Summit."
Report authors R. Michael Alvarez and Jonathan Nagler have analyzed the likely impact on voter turnout should New Mexico adopt Same Day Registration (SDR). Under the system proposed in New Mexico, eligible voters who miss the current 28-day deadline for registering by mail may be able to register to vote during the state's early voting period. The availability of Same Day Registration procedures should give voters who have not previously registered the opportunity to vote.
Allegra Chapman, Counsel in the Democracy Program, delivers testimony on the benefits of Election Day Registration before the House Ways and Means Committee of the Maryland General Assembly.
Demos President Miles Rapoport delivers testimony, highlighting Iowa's turnout for the 2008 General Election was the highest in state history largely as a result of EDR recently enacted in the state, EDR states have little to no instance of fraud related to EDR and election officials in EDR states support its efficacy as pro-voter legislation that opens access to the polls and limits the need for provisional ballots, before the Nebraska Senate Committee on Government, Military and Veterans Affairs.