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It is becoming increasingly difficult for Americans to achieve and sustain a middle-class life. The costs of homeownership, healthcare and a college education have soared, while incomes have stagnated. According to the Middle Class Security Index, a measure developed by Demos and the Institute on

After being on the outside for years, consumer lobbyists have gained power. Credit card rules were just the start of what they hope to do with it. One area of regulatory reform that consumer advocates are particularly keen on is a new panel that would regulate mortgages and credit cards. The White

Bob Herbert, op-ed columnist for The New York Times, received an honorary degree and spoke at Lawrence Universitys 2009 commencement. Bob Herbert, op-ed columnist for The New York Times, received an honorary degree and spoke at Lawrence University's 2009 commencement. Here are his remarks. It's a

But the direction of all my work, at bottom, is toward a new family economy, something I believe we can achieve only by fundamentally reformulating American politics around ideas of community wealth and family economic protection. This is a politics that leverages families and communities against

Today's 20-somethings are likely to be the first generation to not be better off than their parents." This is the first line of Economic State of Young America, a report released by Demos, a nonpartisan public policy think tank in New York City. And that's a troubling thesis for a generation that

Yet these reforms still leave the burden of registration on the voter. The holy grail of registration reform remains universal registration. As the Election Protection coalition states in its report on the 2008 election, this would mean a registration system that was automatic, permanent (providing

Millions of Families Experienced Economic Decline Since 2000; Households of Color Hardest Hit

Today headlines are filled with stories of middle-class families struggling to survive the current downturn. But the problems of middle-class families did not start with the recession. Between 2000 and 2006, the number of middle-class families that lacked economic security grew from 19 to 23 million

When Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) in 1993, its goals were to "increase the number of eligible citizens who register to vote in elections for Federal office" and "protect the integrity of the electoral process." Yet, while most states created effective programs for mail

Caleb Gibson, federal affairs coordinator for Demos, a New York-based advocacy group on economic issues, is following the credit bill of rights’ progress and lobbying to include as many consumer protections in it as possible. Here’s his quick analysis of what is in the legislation that’s likely to