The wealthy are remarkably adept at feeling vicitimized, despite their unprecedented income gains over the past few decades and their unparalleled level of political clout in a democracy where money equals free speech.
A new study from Brandeis University’s Institute on Assets and Social Policy shows a dramatic increase in the wealth gap between white and African-American families from 1984 to 2009. The study is remarkable in its depth, as it followed the same set of families over the 25-year period. The total wealth gap between white and African-American families rose from $85,000 in 1984 to $236,500 in 2009.
Does it matter whether or not America is actually a "center-right" country, as conservatives argue, if its elected leaders think it is? Or is the only factor that matters the size of a voter's bank account?
It's time to ensure that workers, no matter what their immigration status, have the same rights, and that their status isn't used an excuse to justify abusive behavior.
Ever wonder why the government seems fine with cutting unemployment benefits and welfare programs? Part of the answer may be that the rich vote more than the poor.
Yesterday the Supreme Court heard arguments about the constitutionality of a key part of the Voting Rights Act. This landmark piece of civil rights legislation transformed what had been for some Americans an empty promise of a right to vote into the beginning of an ability to exercise that right.
Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler has come out swinging against a proposal to allow voters in his state to register on Election Day. Coloradans currently must register at least 29 days ahead of time, and Gessler is dusting the cobwebs off a well-worn bogeyman in an attempt to keep it that way. In a recent op-ed in the Denver Post, Gessler wrote:
I attended the oral argument in the Voting Rights Act case before the U.S. Supreme Court, and I came away even more convinced that the Court should uphold the contested parts of the law.
Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act requires that covered states "preclear" their proposed election law changes with federal officials. Nine states plus parts of seven others are "covered," and many of these areas are in the South.
The current "Debt for Diploma" system of funding higher education is not working, as Demos has documented. It leaves too many young people weighed down by loans and undermines our nation's economic future. Now there is yet another reason to worry about the failings of the U.S.
The U.S. political system is increasingly gamed against Americans of modest means — a situation exacerbated in recent years by major changes in the nation's campaign laws.
I attended the oral argument in the Voting Rights Act case before the U.S. Supreme Court, and I came away even more convinced that the Court should uphold the contested parts of the law.
Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act requires that covered states "preclear" their proposed election law changes with federal officials. Nine states plus parts of seven others are "covered," and many of these areas are in the South.
MIAMI — Louis D. Brandeis, the American jurist, famously warned: “We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”
The U.S. political system is increasingly gamed against Americans of modest means — a situation exacerbated in recent years by major changes in the nation's campaign laws.
That's the overriding takeaway from a new report slated for release today by Demos, a left-leaning nonprofit public policy group "working for an America where we all have an equal say in our democracy and an equal chance in our economy."
President Obama and some members of Congress have made waves recently with calls for voting reform. But your access to the ballot probably depends more on what’s going on at the nearest statehouse.
With state legislative sessions well underway, lawmakers across the country have unleashed a raft of bills tweaking their states’ voting systems. Here are a few issues to keep an eye on.
Evidence keeps coming in that the culture war is winding down. Most recently, according to Politico:
More than 80 of the nation’s most prominent Republicans — including top officials of all recent Republican administrations and presidential campaigns – on Tuesday came out publicly in favor of a constitutional right to gay marriage in a brief to be filed this week with the Supreme Court.
Young adults are pulling back on credit-card debt for similar reasons, said Amy Traub, a senior policy analyst at Demos, a public policy research organization. It found that Americans age 25 to 34 cut their credit card debt in half between 2008 and 2012.
All around them, young adults are seeing signs of financial distress -- job insecurity, foreclosures, high college costs. That's making them think twice about applying for loans, she said.
For the third consecutive year since the Great Recession, corporate profits soared in 2012. The FDIC report on fourth quarter 2012 bank earnings, released today, shows banks earning near-record highs. The headline numbers from the report are shocking.
Despite bans on the practice in 15 states, payday loan companies have thrived, finding a powerful ally in major banks like JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. That is the finding of the Pew Charitable Trusts in the second edition of their Payday Lending in Americaseries.
Despite only being 35 years old, it might be time to retire the 401(k).
The 401(k) started out as a tax loop hole to supplement workers' savings and has grown to become Americans’ main retirement savings tool. But many baby boomers are finding their retirement in tatters and aren’t able to leave the workforce due to grossly inadequate savings.