IF THE conservative era now collapsing around us had a reigning idea, it was best expressed by Margaret Thatcher when she declared with Bourbonesque flair that “there is no such thing as society.” In their new book Unjust Deserts: How the Rich are Taking our Common Inheritance and Why We Should Take it Back, Gar Alperovitz and Lew Daly turn Thatcher’s premise on its head and with it the whole individualistic worldview that ruled our politics for the last three decades.
In July 2008, 49 advocates, scholars, and thinkers met in Washington, D.C. and came to agreement on the outlines of a broad agenda for democracy reform. In the weeks that followed, the participants broke into workgroups and developed the recommendations outlined in this document. Our ideas rest on a set of shared convictions about what democracy ought to mean. We envision an America that encourages the maximum levels of voter turnout, practices people-centered governance, and actively seeks and genuinely values everyone’s participation.
Voter registrations in Virginia public assistance agencies declined by 87 percent between 1995-1996 and 2005-2006, despite increased enrollment in public benefit programs like food stamps. Field investigators in early 2008 confirmed that state offices were not offering voter registration, as required by the National Voter Registration Act. Working cooperatively with Demos and its state partners, Virginia has achieved a dramatic change of course. The first several data reports indicate an eightfold increase in voter registrations.
America needs an election process that is efficient, trustworthy, and welcoming. We need a renewed sense of citizenship and service, and a government that people can believe in.
All over America, there were plenty of reasons to celebrate women last month: August marked the 88th anniversary of the 19th Amendment's ratification, which gave women the right to vote. Women's Equality Day, which was on August 26, commemorated that victory. There are now more women in the U.S. Congress than ever (88) and 2008 was a year when a woman came within a hair's breadth of becoming a major ticket presidential nominee.
In remarks recently delivered at a community ministry in Zanesville, Ohio, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama pledged to revive George W. Bush’s “faith-based initiative.” It was to be Bush’s signature domestic policy, increasing the role of smaller faith-based providers in government social service programs. The surprising announcement strengthened Obama’s claim to a new kind of politics, even as he sharply contrasted his own faith-based vision with Bush’s “photo-op” version.
Demos' research on student debt reports an 11 percent rise in credit card debt among college students since 1989, leading to financial hardships that spill over onto the whole family.
Demos' Public Works Senior Program Director, Michael Lipsky and Demos Fellow Nicole Kazee argue that small business interests have been hijacked by powerful interest groups that do not full represent the views or interests of small-business owners. So then, who speaks for small business?