What differentiates households that accumulate and carry balances on their credit cards from those that don’t have debt? Building on a national survey of 1,997 households, this study examines two groups of working age low- and middle-income households that are statistically indistinguishable in terms of income, racial and ethnic background, age, marital status and rate of homeownership—yet one group carries credit card debt, while the other has credit cards but no debt.
Chairman Schumer, Senator King, Ranking Member Roberts, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to submit this testimony for this hearing on the harm of secret political spending, the impact of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in McCutcheon v. FEC, and solutions to address the problem of improper influence of money in politics in America today.
McCutcheon struck down the limit on the total amount that one wealthy donor is permitted to contribute to all federal candidates, parties, and political action committees (PACs) combined.
Same Day Registration (SDR) allows eligible voters to register to vote and cast their ballots on the same day. Depending on the state, this one-stop process for registering and voting may be offered on Election Day, during the early voting period, or both.
Voting is the bedrock of our democracy. In a government of, by and for the people, casting a ballot is the fundamental means through which we all have a say in the political decisions that affect our lives. Yet today, without substantial interventions, the freedom to vote is at great risk.
Good morning, my name is Catherine Ruetschlin and I am a policy analyst at Demos, a 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. Access to an affordable higher education is central to the work of Demos because, despite its growing expense, a college degree remains a young person’s best bet for raising her standard of living and securing a place in the middle class.
The Government By the People Act increases the power of the small contributions that ordinary citizens can afford to give, providing incentives for congressional candidates to reach out to average constituents, not just dial for dollars from wealthy donors.
Dear Mr. President: Thank you for your leadership in enacting the Affordable Care Act, and for your commitment to helping all Americans access quality, affordable health care, a goal that the undersigned strongly support.
The opportunity to work hard and get ahead is a core value of American society. Yet today in the United States, qualified job seekers are turned away from employment because of their personal credit history. People whose credit is damaged as a result of medical debt, student loans, a layoff, divorce, predatory lending, identity theft, or simple error are shut out of jobs—despite a lack of evidence connecting someone’s credit history with their job performance.
The Volcker Rule is a requirement in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 that is sometimes referred to as a “mini-Glass-Steagall.”
In the wake of the worst effects of the Great Recession, African Americans, like Americans as a whole, are getting their balance sheets in order and paying down credit card debt. But new research from Demos’ National Survey on Credit Card Debt of Low-and Middle-Income Households finds that African Americans face challenges to their financial security that are unlike those of white households.
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the undersigned organizations, we urge you to become an original cosponsor of “The Equal Employment for All Act” sponsored by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). In addition to the weak economy, job-seekers today confront another less discussed challenge— employers that require credit checks as a condition of employment.
In August 2011, Congress passed a strange piece of legislation intended to bind itself into the future. In spite of persistently high unemployment and an unremarkable deficit-to-GDP ratio, and in spite of public polling that consistently showed that creating jobs was the American public’s top priority, politicians inside the infamous Washington “Beltway” had spent months locked in a debate over ways to cut deficits and balance the federal budget—policies that would not create jobs and by some estimates would put millions out of work.