New York — Demos is please to announce that James Gustave ("Gus") Speth is joining Demos as its eighth Distinguished Senior Fellow. Speth comes to Demos after serving as Dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies from 1999-2009. Previously, he was Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and chair of the UN Development Group. Earlier, he was founder and president of the World Resources Institute; professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center; chairman of the U.S.
When drawing legislative districts, New York State counts incarcerated persons as "residents" of the community where the prison is located, instead of counting them in the home community to which they will return, on average, within 34 months. This practice of prison-based gerrymandering ignores more than 100 years of legal precedent.
Would Re-establish Key Provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act—Limiting Risk Taking by Commercial Banks, Requiring Investment and Insurance Spin-offs, Ending Era of 'Too Big to Fail'
Increasing numbers of low- and middle-income families use credit cards for basic living expenses. As health care costs have increased and health insurance coverage has become inadequate, medical expenses have become another basic cost that families increasingly cover through credit cards.
"Public structures" has proven to be an effective organizing idea for more constructive conversations about the role of government in American life. The concept was first developed by the principals of the Topos Partnership in research they conducted for Public Works in 2005, and since then, it has been field-tested by Public Works with advocates, elected officials, public sector managers, and public policy organizations around the country.
As Congress Takes Up Sweeping Financial Reform, Report Urges Fundamental Change of Ratings Agency Model
Washington, DC — With the House of Representatives and a key Senate committee poised to vote on sweeping financial industry reforms, a new report by Demos finds that the proposed remedies fail to fully address the problems that led the credit rating agencies to become key enablers of the housing bubble and Wall Street meltdown.
America's students are facing a serious threat from subprime private loans, and the situation could worsen unless Congress votes to close a potential loophole in the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency.
Expanded Presence In Nation's Capital Will Strengthen Congressional And White House Policy Outreach, Host Public Events Series
Washington, D.C. — This week, Demos, a national, non-partisan public policy research and advocacy center, is pleased to announce two significant staffing changes:
Heather McGhee has been named Director of Demos' new Washington, D.C., office.
The United States has long granted trade preferences to developing countries that meet various criteria. These criteria, which are stipulated by the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), have changed with time — reflecting U.S. economic and foreign policy priorities.
While the criteria include non-support for terrorism, enforcement of intellectual property rights, and respect for internationally recognized worker rights, the GSP does not include an environmental provision.
Comprehensive and meaningful systemic risk reform must undo many of the ill-advised deregulatory measuresof the past 20 years, including the four key changes wrought by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
New York — Dramatic increases in low-income voter registrations at public assistance agencies have occurred recently in five states that have taken steps to improve their compliance with a requirement of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), according to a new report by Demos, a non-partisan public policy and research center.
Washington, DC — Today, thousands of Americans are gathering on the streets of Chicago to march against financial service industry excess that has cost the American taxpayers trillions of dollars, destabilized the economy and undermined the stability of millions of US households.
In response to the public outcry against excesses in the financial services industries, dubbed "The Showdown in Chicago", the following statement was issued from Heather McGhee, director of the Washington DC, Office for the public policy and research center Demos:
Even before the Great Recession of 2008, today's young adults were on track to have the dubious distinction of being the first generation in a century not likely to end up better off than their parents. Stagnant wages, job insecurity, the decline in employer sponsored health insurance and retirement benefits, rapid increases in the cost of basic expenses, soaring debt, and minimal savings have diminished the prospects for opportunity and mobility.