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Image of a hand lowering a voter registration sheet into an orange box with stacks of voter registration papers on both sides

Threats to Ballot Access: New Report Examines Risks of Wrongful Voter Removals Across the Country

Dēmos examines ballot access issues, voter suppression in AZ, GA, OH, CA, IN, WI, MI, NC, TX, LA 

Press release/statement
August 10, 2023

We are changing the conversation around our democracy and economy by telling influential new stories about our country and its people. Get our latest blog and media updates here. For more in-depth explorations and analyses, visit our Resources page.

Featured
Ground level view of the Wall Street Stock Exchange

Unfinished Business: Revisiting Dodd-Frank and the Path to Economic Progress

On the anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act, we reflect on recent banking failures and the inequities inherent in our current financial system. 

Blog
Daniella Zessoules
Black mother and daughter looking at the city river

A Supreme Court Power Grab: Attacking Federal Agencies to Advance an Extremist Agenda

Why the Court's decision to limit the EPA's power to regulate water access is yet another case of eroding the power of the other branches of government at the expense of Black and brown people.

Blog
Ashley Tjhung
supreme court

Supreme Court's Rejection of Affirmative Action Widens the Divide: Dēmos Calls for Renewed Efforts to Combat Systemic Racism

“The 14th Amendment is supposed to be a shield against racism, and now it’s being used as a sword.” 

Press release/statement
Taifa Smith Butler

Don't Believe the Wal-Mart Hype: Here's Proof it Still Isn't Paying its Workers Enough

Wal-Mart for increasing the starting salary of workers from $9 to $10 an hour, which would boost the wages of 500,000 employees, along with other boosts in specialized sections. While this step is a positive one, a new Demos brief argues that despite this new policy, Wal-Mart wages and schedules
In the media
Sean McElwee
Amy Traub
The Supreme Court of the United States from a distance

5 Ways the Supreme Court Was Wrong in Buckley v Valeo

Buckley has been called the “original sin” of campaign finance law.
Blog
Allie Boldt

Lilly Ledbetter and What's Next in Tackling the Pay Gap

Seven years ago today, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act became the first piece of legislation that newly-inaugurated President Obama signed into law. The law restored protections against pay discrimination that had been restricted by a recent Supreme Court decision, making it easier for working
Blog
Amy Traub

With Wages Still Unequal, Obama Issues Mandate to Combat Pay Gap

But as Demos senior policy analyst Amy Traub points out in a blog post on Friday, "[b]eing paid less for doing the same job is just one aspect of the pay gap."
In the media
Deirdre Fulton

​The Widening College Wealth Gap

The vast riches of schools like Stanford and Harvard have created dilemmas about how their endowments should be directed. One slate of candidates for Harvard's board of overseers is calling for the school to spend some of its $37.6 billion endowment to cover tuition for all students. Lawmakers have
In the media
Aimee Picchi

Joint Statement on Kellogg Foundation Racial Equity Commission Launch

The 12 W. K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) "Anchor Institutions," applaud the Foundation's launch of the Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) commission. The WKKF “America Healing Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative" is a unique partnership of 12 leading national organizations all dedicated to
Press release/statement

Which Policies Will Cut the Racial Wealth Gap?

America’s growing inequality is well-documented. Less discussed is its intersection with another of the country’s defining trends, growing diversity. Racial disparities in wealth are vast. And addressing inequality now and in the years ahead, means thinking seriously about the racial wealth gap and
In the media
Amy Traub

Inequality is Destroying the Middle Class

The idea of a property-owning democracy is no longer the reality in the United States. Edward Wolff finds that the wealthiest 10 percent own 90.9 percent of all stocks and mutual funds, 94.3 percent of financial securities but only 26.5 percent of the debt. For the middle class, their home makes up
In the media
Sean McElwee

How the One Percent is Systematically Destroying the Middle Class

The idea of a property-owning democracy has long roots in American political thought. In their book, The Citizen's Share, Joseph R. Blasi, Richard B. Freeman and Douglas Kruse argue that the Founding Fathers wanted everyone (well, everyone who was white and male) to own a small slice of property
In the media
Sean McElwee

The Unbearable Whiteness of Money in Politics

The 2016 presidential election will be the second since the court's disastrous Citizens United decision and the first without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act in place. That means big donors will have more sway over elected officials to dictate the agenda.
In the media
Sean McElwee