The resolution authority proposal is "a bit of a red herring" when it comes to credible ways to end TBTF, said Heather McGhee, Washington director of Demos, a public policy organization. It won't work, she said.
"We've got to deal with the conflicts. If I hire S&P or Moody's to be my consultant and show me how I can do this and that to get an investment-grade rating or [an] even higher rating, they obviously have a conflict of interest there."
"That's right. I think the compensation model... where the issuer pays for the rating is really at the heart of the conflict problem..."
The Census Bureau should be commended for taking action. "For too long, communities with large prisons have received greater representation in government on the backs of people who have no voting rights in the prison community," said Brenda Wright, director of the Democracy Program at Demos, a research and advocacy organization. "The Census Bureau's new data will greatly assist states and localities in correcting this injustice."
The Merkley-Levin proposal would target major Wall Street banks, such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which became bank holding companies in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis.
Industry lobbyists and congressional aides have suggested, however, that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley could shed their bank holding companies and in the future escape the outright ban. They would still be subject to potentially higher capital requirements set by the Fed.
Young adults have an enormous stake in the financial regulatory reform debate. They have paid a high price for a banking crisis caused by lax regulation, and their economic futures will depend on rebuilding strong public structures for financial regulation going forward. This briefing paper addresses some of the key reforms and the impact of both the banking crisis and unregulated lending practices on young Americans' financial futures.
The major credit rating agencies, Moody’s, Standard & Poors, and Fitch, bear a heavy burden of responsibility for the financial meltdown. It was their seal of approval that enabled Wall Street to develop a multi-trillion-dollar market for bonds resting on a foundation of tricky loans and bubbly housing prices. Institutional investors around the world were seduced into buying these high-risk securities by credit ratings that made them out to be as safe as the most conventional corporate and municipal bonds.
Building on Living Longer on Less, the first report in a series examining the financial vulnerability of the elderly, this report examines the economic security of African-American and Latino senior households.
Public Works began this far-reaching effort with groundbreaking analysis and thorough, multifaceted research that examined Americans' attitudes toward the public sector. This research, which was originally conducted in 2004–2005 by the FrameWorks Institute and re–tested in 2008–2009 by the Topos Partnership, was designed to uncover the dominant frames or stereotypes to which Americans default when they think about government and how those frames affect public choices.
Today's young adults are coming of age in a tough economy, on the heels of 30 years of declining economic opportunity and security for all but the most affluent and most highly educated. These changes are quite evident in Ohio, where the once-mighty manufacturing sector that provided better-than-average jobs in the 1960s and 1970s has eroded, hitting young adults particularly hard.
Demos, headquartered in New York City, grew out of a series of meetings of scholars, activists, journalists and elected officials who were concerned about the ever-increasing influence of the right on public policy. "The thinking was that there should be more moderate, liberal and left-of-center voices," said Miles Rapoport, the group's president. The group was formed in 2000, a year that would later see the disputed election that gave the presidency to Mr. Bush.
The Great Recession of 2008 and its after-effects still are radically impacting the lives of millions. While men initially bore the heavier burden, women are now increasingly falling victim to unemployment, fore- closure, and eviction. Low-income women have been hit particularly hard. Women’s History Month provides an apt occasion to consider both what low-income women have at stake in current debates over the economic policies that shape our lives, and how they can gain a greater voice in those debates.
One person, one vote? Not in Connecticut. Not in most places.
When the bill had its first hearing at the Capitol last week, only one person testified. Brenda Wright, who works for Demos, a research and policy organization, told the judiciary committee that "crediting incarcerated people to the wrong location has the unfortunate and undemocratic result of creating a system of ‘representation without population.'"
The antiregulatory mania of the past three decades and the stagnant wages of most American workers during that period have left families at the mercy of an increasingly predatory financial sector. As a briefing paper by the progressive think tank Demos noted:
Doing an internship while in college has become a near prerequisite for obtaining a good job. Yet internships are often out of reach for low-income students because most of them are unpaid. This report outlines the limitations of the current college internship system, and proposes the creation of subsidies for low-income college students to pursue internships at non-profit organizations or government agencies.
Taxes support the government services that undergird the quality of life Americans enjoy. As communicators, we must promote this unique and foundational role that taxes play. We can do this by explicitly communicating the relationship between the purpose of taxes and the well-being Americans appreciate. We need to help people see taxes as a means to an end, a necessary part of how we achieve shared goals. This document helps achieve this by providing sample language and a checklist for communicating about taxes.
This fact sheet includes a brief overview of why paying for college has become so difficult. Suggestions for how college students can lower their own college costs and information on public policies that can make attending college more affordable are included.
TOP FACTS:
Authors R. Michael Alvarez (California Institute of Technology) and Jonathan Nagler (New York University) have analyzed the likely impact on voter turnout should Maryland adopt Same Day Registration (SDR). Under the system proposed in Maryland, eligible voters who miss the current 21-day deadline for registering may be able to register to vote during the state's 7-day early voting period, or on Election Day.