To make ends meet, working families have been forced to rely more on credit for basic household necessities. According to a recent study by Demos, from 1989 to 2001 credit card debt in the U.S. nearly tripled, from $238 billion to $692 billion. Add into this equation the lack of affordable housing in almost every region in the country, and an ideal environment was created for predatory mortgage lenders to take advantage of vulnerable working families.
New York, NY — Fewer than one in three middle-class families in America is financially secure, and the remaining majority are either borderline or at high risk of falling out of the middle class altogether, according to a new study published this week by Demos and the Institute for Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University.
New York — Provisional ballots were a significant source of voter frustration and administrative problems at polling places during the 2006 election, according to a new report, A Fallible 'Fail-safe': An Analysis of Provisional Balloting Problems in the 2006 Election. The new study, published this week by the non-partisan public policy center Demos, underscores significant concern over provisional ballot implementation, a topic that has been the subject of recent hearings in the United States House of Representatives.
Trouble with electronic voting machines and confusion over identification rules frustrated voters across the country Tuesday, creating delays in Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Colorado.
New York, NY — American families are using credit cards to bridge the gaps created by stagnant wages and higher costs of living and balances have grown dramatically since 1989, according to a new report published today by Demos. Borrowing to Make Ends Meet: the Rapid Growth of Credit Card Debt in America documents the disturbing trends in sky-rocketing credit card debt, and also provides detailed data based on age, race and income demographics.
New York, NY — This week the Supreme Court agreed to hear Crawford v. Marion County Election Board and Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita, a controversial lawsuit about the constitutionality of voter ID laws enacted since the disputed 2000 election. Though the debate has been defined by partisanship, Demos experts Brenda Wright and Lori Minnite can provide clear analysis of election law, the incidence of voter fraud, and the effectiveness of voter ID.
NEW YORK — Leaders from the arts, politics and academia gathered in Mexico City this month to discuss pressing global concerns at the fifth annual Interdependence Day Celebration. The three-day forum convenes annually to correspond with the 9/11 anniversary, focusing on "creating positive interdependence" through trans-national work to find political, social and business solutions to crime, war, financial crises, environmental hazards and public health concerns.
Members of the House Government Operations Committee were like pinballs last week, ricocheting between two walls as they worked to set campaign
contribution limits.
Missouri — Today, Demos and Project Vote, representing the community group ACORN, sent a letter of intent to sue the Missouri Department of Social Services if the state doesn't comply with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to provide voter registration opportunities in public assistance offices.
John Kerry's defeat in 2004, assumed by many to be the product of perceived Democratic deficiencies in "moral values," gave this conversation renewed energy. And while some in the "new values" camp pointed to the importance of a specifically religious morality, others urged the Democrats to focus on a secular but morally demanding vision of the common good.
New York, NY — North Carolina is taking a number of steps to be in full compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, specifically its requirement that states offer voter registration opportunities in public assistance agencies, according to a new report published this week by Demos, a national election reform and voting rights policy center.
Michael Lipsky and Dianne Stewart, Senior Program Director and Director of Public Works at Demos, argue it takes effective government to restore opportunity. After decades of government-bashing, we need to win back support for what we do in common.
America's way of providing health care is failing, too, Cohn writes, and its problems also won't go away on their own. He spoke with NEWSWEEK's Mary Carmichael about how to cure an ailing system.
The people who get clobbered the most are still the working poor and the lower middle class. But the big change we're seeing now is that vulnerability is expanding up into the middle class more than before.
New York, NY — Everyday, millions of Americans struggle to find affordable medical care for themselves and their families, often leading to long-delayed treatment of illness and financial ruin. In SICK: The Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis, and the People Who Pay the Price (HarperCollins; April 10, 2007), journalist and Demos Senior Fellow Jonathan Cohn offers a fascinating, first-hand account of America's failing health care system.