NEW YORK— The national public policy center Demos welcomes the expanded availability of language assistance for limited-English-proficient voters in future elections, as announced yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The increase was occasioned by the Census Bureau’s recalculation of Latino, Asian American, Native American and Alaskan Native citizens needing such assistance, as provided for under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act.
Washington, DC—Just as the Senate is set to start a debate on the American Jobs Act, the issue of “job quality” is coming to the fore at a national conference entitled “Good Jobs for a Stronger Economy” on Wednesday, October 12.
NEW YORK-- National public policy organization Demos applauds California Governor Brown for signing AB 420, a bill to end prison-based gerrymandering. Introduced by Assemblymember Mike Davis, the legislation ends the practice of treating incarcerated individuals as residents of the districts where they are temporarily confined, for redistricting purposes.
NEW YORK—Today, the public policy organization Demos announced the addition of three Senior Fellows whose work spans the areas of consumer protection, domestic family policy and global public health. While working on major research and writing projects, the new fellows will also be regular contributors to Demos' newly launched blog, www.policyshop.net
Boston - As President Obama tours the nation to promote the "American Jobs Act," a new report from the public policy organization Demos, "The State of Massachusetts' Middle Class," details the causes and impact of the growing jobs crisis in the Bay State and across America.
Massachusetts’ strong and vibrant middle class didn’t just happen. It was built brick by brick by the hard work of our parents and grandparents and the strength in numbers that came from the unions that represented them.
New York - Today, the Institute on Assets and Social Policy and the national policy center Demos released a report revealing that only four percent of Latino seniors and eight percent of African-American seniors have the resources to maintain economic security for the duration of their lives. The report, "The Crisis of Economic Insecurity for African-American and Latino Seniors," underscores how the nation's seniors were experiencing declining economic security even before the Great Recession.
Civil rights groups will release a letter to the Department of Justice charging an unnecessary, unfair, restrictive photo voter ID law intentionally discriminates against African American and Latino voters.
Washington, DC-Just after President Obama's speech to a joint session of the US Congress on his new plan to stimulate job growth entitled "The American Jobs Act," the national policy center Demos published a point-by-point analysis of the plan. Based on the deep economic troubles facing this nation, including widespread joblessness and stagnant or declining wages, the Demos analysis concludes that the President's plan is a good start, and tells the right story about how to get the economy moving again.
Today, on the morning of President Obama's jobs speech, the national policy center Demos published a new study detailing how the job losses of the Great Recession are intensifying the threat to America's middle class, which was already struggling after decades of economic stagnation, slow wage growth and rising costs.
In a victory for voting rights, a decision issued September 7, 2011 by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has denied certification to a proposed ballot initiative that would impose restrictive requirements for photo ID in Massachusetts elections.
The decision rests on Article 9 of the Massachusetts Constitution, which guarantees “the freedom of elections.” The certification ruling likens the ID requirement to a poll tax because the proposed law makes no provision for qualified voters to obtain state-issued identification without paying a fee.
NEW YORK- As Labor Day approaches - and with President Obama's much anticipated jobs plan to be announced shortly - the national policy center Demos is illuminating America's severe jobs crisis with "America Can Work Better" week, which begins with a post from Demos Distinguished Senior Fellow Bob Herbert. Through a package of info-graphics and commentary, "America Can Work Better" will clarify the root causes of America's jobs crisis; analyze chronic unemployment among American youth; dispel myths about "job-killing regulation and taxation;" and offer some real-
Oregon's middle class is fraying, with well-paying jobs in short supply and the cost of raising a family dramatically increasing. That's the assessment of a major report released today by the Oregon Center for Public Policy and Demos, a New York City-based research and advocacy institute.
"The American Dream is vanishing before our eyes," explained Demos Distinguished Senior Fellow and former NY Times columnist Bob Herbert. "Sadly, Oregonians who work hard and play by the rules can no longer expect to provide a decent life for their families."
Boston, MA - Yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit -- covering Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island -- issued a decision upholding Maine's campaign finance disclosure provisions, which had been challenged by the anti-gay marriage National Organization for Marriage. In response, Lisa Danetz, Demos Senior Counsel, issued the following statement:
A commission appointed by the Massachusetts legislature is considering the creating a state Partnership Bank to boost the local economy by increasing community development lending.