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Amy Traub

Former Associate Director, Policy & Research

Tamara Draut

Heather C. McGhee

Trustee Emeritus
Heather McGhee

Heather is a Trustee Emeritus on the Demos Board and author of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together

Demos Pres. Miles Rapoport Applauds Connecticut Legislators for Passage of Bill Banning Discriminatory Credit Checks in Hiring

New York – Today, Demos, a national public policy research and advocacy center that supports fair employment practices, congratulates the Connecticut General Assembly for passing legislation that prohibits employers from using credit reports in employment decisions except in certain circumstances. Demos commends Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, House Speaker Christopher Donovan and Representative Matthew Lesser for their leadership on this issue.  Connecticut is sixth in a growing number of states to ban employment credit checks.

Press release/statement

Stacked Deck: How the Racial Bias in Our Big Money Political System Undermines Our Democracy and Our Economy

The dominance of big money in our politics makes it far harder for people of color to exert political power and effectively advocate for their interests as both wealth and power are consolidated by a small, very white, share of the population.

Research
Adam Lioz

Retiring In The Red: The Growth of Debt Among Older Americans

NEW: SECOND EDITION. "Retiring in the Red" is part of the Borrowing to Make Ends Meet Briefing Paper Series. Reports an 89% average increase in credit card debt among America's seniors from 1992 to 2001. Key Findings:

Research
Tamara Draut
Heather C. McGhee

Discrediting America: The Urgent Need to Reform the Nation's Credit Reporting Industry

This report reveals the extent of credit information “mission creep,” examines troubling shortcomings in the for-profit credit reporting industry, and recommends common sense steps to reform the credit reporting system.

Research
Amy Traub

Hartford, Conn. City Council Bans Credit Checks in City Employment; Demos Pres. Miles Rapoport Applauds Decision

New York – This week, the growing practice of employers screening the credit scores of job applicants was dealt a legal blow after the Court of Common Council of Hartford, Connecticut, passed an ordinance prohibiting the practice as part of the city's employment application and promotion process. The legislation is the first municipal ordinance of its kind in the country. 

Demos, a national public policy research and advocacy center that supports fair employment and publishes research hiring practices, celebrates the decision.

Press release/statement

The Plastic Safety Net: 2012 National Survey on Credit Card Debt of Low-and Middle-Income Households

In February and March 2012, Demos surveyed a nationally representative sample of 997 low- and middle-income American households who carried credit card debt for three months or more.

Research
Amy Traub
Catherine Ruetschlin

The Challenge of Credit Card Debt for the African American Middle Class

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.

Research
Catherine Ruetschlin
Dedrick Asante-Muhammad

Discredited: How Employment Credit Checks Keep Qualified Workers Out of a Job

Why employment credit checks constitute an illegitimate barrier to employment.

Research
Amy Traub

Fast Food Failure: How CEO-to-Worker Pay Disparity Undermines the Industry and the Overall Economy

Extreme wage gaps within the fast food industry has made its sector the most unequal in the American economy

Research
Catherine Ruetschlin

To Move Is To Thrive: Public Transit and Economic Opportunity for People of Color

This report presents findings on the use of public transit by people of color and on the potential jobs benefits that people of color can gain from investments in public transit.

Research
Algernon Austin

Enough to Make You Sick: The Burden of Medical Debt

Medical debt is a leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States. This report analyzes the impact of medical debt on household finances and provides policy solutions.

Research
Sean McElwee

New Report Examines Why Some Working Families Have Credit Card Debt While Others Don't

New York, NY — As new unemployment figures show a still-staggering 9 percent of Americans out of work, a new report from the policy center Demos examines the degree that low income American families use credit to weather economic shocks, and draws out the impact of credit card debt on families' long-term financial stability.

Press release/statement

Big Money in the Charm City

The white, wealthy donor class that fuels Baltimore's elections

Research
Laura Williamson

It Takes Nearly $8 Million to Join the Wealthiest One Percent

The most accurate threshold to enter the rarefied top 1% of wealthholders, $7,880,400, is almost three times as high as the Census estimates. 

Blog
Joseph Hines

STATEMENT: New Report Examines Medical Debt and its Economic Impact

Out-of-Pocket Medical Expenses Among Top Sources of Credit Card Debt

Press release/statement

Establish a Public Credit Registry

As part of an effort to reshape rules around debt and lending to reduce racial wealth inequality, we propose establishing a public credit registry to gradually replace the current for-profit credit reporting system.

Policy Briefs
Amy Traub

Demos Calls for Establishing a Public Credit Registry

Today, Demos proposed establishing a public credit registry, housed in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as an essential part of a larger effort to reshape rules around debt and lending in order to reduce racial wealth inequality. 

Press release/statement