Today, Sec. Hillary Clinton will announce her plan to return to debt-free public college for future students and relieve the burden for existing borrowers. In anticipation of the release of Sec. Clinton’s plan, Demos prepared two new analyses that underscore the need for bold solutions to our college affordability crisis.
Demos Vice President of Policy and Research Tamara Draut issued the following statement:
"After two months of deliberations, hearings, and moving testimonies, the wage board created by Governor Cuomo voted yesterday to recommend a wage increase in a series of steps to $15 an hour by 2018 in New York City and by 2021 in the rest of the state. Fast-food workers’ decision to challenge their powerful corporate bosses was a huge risk—and it paid off.
Demos, in proud partnership with fellow racial equity organizations, released the following statement about the HUD's new fair housing rule:
"The Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) release of the final 'Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule' is a courageous and necessary step by President Obama and HUD Secretary Julián Castro to move our country past the artificial barriers that have divided us and toward a more inclusive and democratic society.
Demos, in proud partnership with fellow racial equity organizations, released the following statement about the King v. Burwell Supreme Court ruling:
"We, the undersigned organizations working to advance racial justice and health equity in the United States, are pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court has found that health insurance subsidies authorized by the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) will remain intact.
The fast food industry is the main driver of compensation inequality in the most disparate sector of the economy, with a CEO-to-worker pay ratio in 2013 of over 1000-to-1.
(New York, NY)- During the next few weeks thousands of students across the country will graduate from college, an accomplishment that used to symbolize a step toward financial independence and entry into the middle class.
New Demos Report Shows State Disinvestment in Public Higher Education is Driving Tuition Increases
Decreased State Funding is Responsible for Nearly 80 Percent of the Rise in Public Education Tuition
Recently, there has been much debate about the real cause of tuition increases, which have risen by nearly $3,000 at public four-year universities in the last decade alone. To meet these costs, U.S. students must take on crushing levels of debt just to access education that was readily affordable for previous generations.
Demos and coalition partners have reached an agreement with the City Council and de Blasio administration to send a bill banning the use of employment credit checks to the City Council floor. In response, President Heather McGhee issued the following statement:
“We are pleased to see progress made in the fight for equal opportunity employment in New York City. Employment credit checks are a catch-22, preventing qualified workers from getting a job just when they really need one most. The biggest drivers of credit problems are job loss and medical emergencies.
Following the announcement that McDonald’s Corporation plans to raise wages by more than 10 percent for 90,000 employees, Demos Senior Policy Analyst Catherine Ruetschlin issued the following statement:
McDonald’s workers deserve this raise and much more.
(New York, NY) – Though much research has been devoted to how public policy choices such as increasing the minimum wage can address economic disparities, there has been no systematic analysis of the types of public policies that offer the most potential for reducing the racial wealth gap.
(New York, NY) – Earlier this week, President Obama directed the Department of Labor to begin the rulemaking process for a fiduciary rule, a new regulation that would require financial advisors and brokers to act in the best interest of people saving for retirement. In the new explainer Why the Fiduciary Rule Matters, Demos Senior Policy Analyst Robert Hiltonsmith finds that this new regulation could save Americans nearly $25 billion from lower fees and translate into an additional $60 billion in returns.
In response to Walmart's announcement to raise the wage for 500,000 employees, Demos Senior Policy Analyst Catherine Ruetschlin issued the following statement:
(New York, NY) – On the heels of the nation’s most expensive mid-term election cycle, where federal political spending hit a $3.7 billion high, the national public policy organization Demos released a new report that examines the inherent racial bias in our big money political system.
(NEW YORK, NY) – Following the nation’s most expensive mid-term election cycle, where political spending hit an unprecedented $3.7 billion high, the national public policy organization Demos has released a new report on the federal election spending of big box retail companies.
(New York, New York) — As the country struggles to find remedies for its growing student debt problem, the national public policy organization Demos has released The Affordable College Compact, a new a proposal for a federal-state matching program to alleviate this burden for students and address many of the contributing factors of rising college costs, most notably state disinvestment.
Today, President Obama will sign an Executive Order that will encourage federal agencies to not contract with companies that violate labor laws, and require federal contractors to disclose any record of wage, labor and anti-discrimination law violations.
(New York, NY) – Eight million workers rely on low-wage jobs supported by the federal government’s $1.3 trillion in annual spending on goods and services, a new report by the national public policy organization Demos finds.
With a Congress that will not act to support American workers and their families, it is more important than ever that [the president] take executive action to institute a Good Jobs Policy.