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How Bad Credit Reports Keep People Unemployed

Emmett Pinkston served in the military for 30 years, first in the Marines, then in the Air Force, then in the Army. He helped coordinate security for President George W. Bush during the G8 Summit on Sea Island, Ga., in 2004, and worked as an intelligence analyst in Iraq from 2005 to 2007, some of the deadliest years of the war.

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March 4, 2013 |
The Huffington Post
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Credit and Debt 
Economy & Opportunity 
Why U.S. Politicians Think Americans Are So Conservative When They're Not

Does it matter whether or not America is actually a "center-right" country, as conservatives argue, if its elected leaders think it is? Or is the only factor that matters the size of a voter's bank account?
March 4, 2013 |
The Atlantic Wire
The Week in Poverty

A Demos/The Nation Production
March 1, 2013 |
The Nation
Report: Campaign Law Changes Hasten Power Imbalance Between Rich, Poor

The U.S. political system is increasingly gamed against Americans of modest means — a situation exacerbated in recent years by major changes in the nation's campaign laws.

That's the overriding takeaway from a new report slated for release today by Demos, a left-leaning nonprofit public policy group "working for an America where we all have an equal say in our democracy and an equal chance in our economy."
February 28, 2013 |
The Center for Public Integrity
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Economy & Opportunity 
When Supercitizens Pull Up the Opportunity Ladder

MIAMI — Louis D. Brandeis, the American jurist, famously warned: “We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”
February 28, 2013 |
The New York Times
Reflections on Reputation and its Consequences

These reputational consequences--whether justified or not--are to be expected. Sociologists and economists have long remarked upon the central role that social trust plays in healthy markets. Market transactions depend on a whole series of assumptions that people must be able to rely on, including the soundness of money, the enforceability of contracts, the good will of their partners, the integrity of the legal system, and the common meanings of language. Social trust is the glue that holds markets and societies together.
February 28, 2013 |
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
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Economy & Opportunity 
Financial Reform 
Regulation & Oversight 
Young Adults Are Too Broke To Get Loans

Young adults are pulling back on credit-card debt for similar reasons, said Amy Traub, a senior policy analyst at Demos, a public policy research organization. It found that Americans age 25 to 34 cut their credit card debt in half between 2008 and 2012.

All around them, young adults are seeing signs of financial distress -- job insecurity, foreclosures, high college costs. That's making them think twice about applying for loans, she said.
February 27, 2013 |
CNN Money
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Credit and Debt 
Economy & Opportunity 
There Will Be More Trayvons

Trayvon Martin was shot dead exactly one year ago today. As we acknowledge this dubious anniversary, a question to consider is: Are we doing any better a year later, when it comes to keeping young people safe?
February 26, 2013 |
Salon
401(k): Pass or Fail?

Despite only being 35 years old, it might be time to retire the 401(k).

The 401(k) started out as a tax loop hole to supplement workers' savings and has grown to become Americans’ main retirement savings tool.  But many baby boomers are finding their retirement in tatters and aren’t able to leave the workforce due to grossly inadequate savings.
February 26, 2013 |
Fox Business