There has been a fundamental shift in our nation's priorities for ensuring access to higher education. In the 1970s and 1980s, most aid was awarded in grants, while loans remained relatively low. Over the last two decades, federal aid has shifted away from grants to loans, pricing out students from low-incomes and leaving the average college graduate with over $18,000 in student loan debt. Unless dramatic new investments are made, America's promise of equal opportunity and social mobility remains in great peril.
Credit card companies are preying on the American public and need to be reined in. Fueled by steady deregulation of the industry, credit card companies increasingly charge excessive interest rates and fees, making it harder for families to get out of debt and back on the path to savings. It's time we stand up against usurious practices and give families a real chance to get ahead.
Current public policies fall far short of addressing the basic disconnect that exists between an economy that produces a high number of low-wage jobs and a society where the cost of living has risen considerably in many areas, driven by the increased prices for housing and health care. The minimum wage, instituted in 1938, has failed to keep pace with inflation and doesn't protect against poverty. It has lost 24 percent of its purchasing power since 1979.
The federal government helps Americans build personal wealth in a variety of ways, most notably with tax breaks related to homeownership and retirement savings. However, most of this assistance goes to people who are already doing well. In 2003, the federal government spent $110.5 billion in homeownership incentives, the bulk of which accrue to better-off families. For example, nearly 90 percent of the mortgage interest deduction benefit accrues to tax filers with adjusted gross incomes over $50,000. Homeowners are even able to deduct mortgage interest on second residences.
Providing every citizen an equal opportunity to register to vote, equal access to the polls, and assurance that every ballot cast is counted is a complex and daunting task. Success requires a broad range of reforms, some structural and some administrative.
Ludovic Blain and Joseph Hayden of the NYC Right to Vote Campaign present testimony to the NYC Council Committee on Government Operations regarding the Pro-Voter Law.
The Executive Summary of the full report, Crossing Divides, examining four cases of policymaking during the 1990s -- the Earned Income Tax Credit, Individual Development Accounts, the Children's Health Insurance Plan, and Empowerment Zones -- suggests some emerging common ground among liberal and conservative policymakers.
Examining four cases of policymaking during the 1990s -- the Earned Income Tax Credit, Individual Development Accounts, the Children's Health Insurance Plan, and Empowerment Zones -- suggests some emerging common ground among liberal and conservative policymakers.
Keynote address to the National Network of Grantmakers about public opinion of poverty and inequality, given by Tamara Draut, Director of Demos's Economic Opportunity program.