Rolling back reform of the financial system is at the top of the agenda for the new Congress. Opponents of a safe and honest financial system have waited until the abject horror of autumn 2008 faded from memory to deal the financial sector regulation a death of a thousand cuts. From time to time, the new Congress may attempt large rollbacks. But their likely strategy is that, after a couple of years of piecemeal repeal, financial regulation will be gutted and the good old days of financial markets that operated like casinos will return.
What is the fiduciary rule?
In the simplest terms, the fiduciary rule is a new regulation, proposed by the Department of Labor, which requires financial advisors and brokers to act in the best interest of people saving for retirement. Under this rule, when consulting your financial advisor they will be required to recommend the best investments for your needs, i.e. the mix of investments with the highest returns, lowest fees, or least risk.
Don’t financial advisors currently have to look out for my best interest?
Dear Mayor de Blasio and Members of the City Council:
As leaders in New York City who are concerned about economic and racial injustice, we call on you to enact Intro. 261, The Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act, and to ensure that this legislation does not include unjustified exemptions. The common practice of using credit checks to screen job applicants creates illegitimate barriers to employment, exacerbates racial discrimination, and may lead to invasions of privacy.
Demos is a national, non-partisan public policy organization working for an America where we all have an equal say in our democracy and an equal chance in our economy. Demos’ lawyers, researchers, and advocates have extensive legal and policy expertise on money in politics. These comments are submitted in response to the Commission’s Notice 2014-12, an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM). We appreciate the opportunity to comment on whether the Commission should modify its regulations in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in McCutcheon v.
Five years after the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. FEC decision, what are the roles of large donors and average voters in selecting and supporting candidates for Congress?
In the aftermath of the Great Recession, Americans battered by job loss, foreclosure, and plummeting home values tightened their belts and paid down debt. The Latino community, hit particularly hard by the housing crash, was no exception. Yet new research from Demos’ National Survey on Credit Card Debt of Low- and Middle-Income Households finds that even as Latinos are carrying less credit card debt, four in ten Latino households with credit card debt are relying on their cards to pay for basic living expenses.
Connecticut’s investment in higher education has decreased considerably over the past two decades, and its financial aid programs, though still some of the country’s most expansive, fail to reach many students with financial need.
Americans are famously concerned about values and personal morality. The United States ranks among the most religious of all the advanced industrialized democracies, and it has frequently experienced eras of intense moral introspection. The past several decades have been such a period, with heated debates over issues like abortion, drugs, divorce, homosexuality, and prayer in schools. Today, opinion polls show considerable public concern about the moral state of the country.
From: Demos
To: Mayor Bill de Blasio; City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito; and interested parties
Regarding: Unjustified exemptions that weaken and Aundermine legislation on employment credit checks
Chairman Capito, Ranking Member Meeks, and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to submit the following statement for the record as part of today’s hearing.