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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

Detroit Accused of Exaggerating $18bn Debts in Push for Bankruptcy

Detroit's debts are a fraction of the $18bn lawyers pushing for bankruptcy say they are, and their costs are "irrelevant, misleading and inflated," according to a report released Wednesday.
In the media
Dominic Rushe

Think Tank: How Walmart Could Pay Workers $14.89 an Hour

A progressive policy research center says that the nation’s largest retailer could easily afford to increase the wages of its employees, if it would choose to avoid “Wall Street financial maneuvers.”
In the media
Christopher Freeburn

The Inclusive Wealth Report Can Help Guide Policymakers

The 2007 economic crisis and the lingering stagnation it wrought has led economists, philosophers and policymakers to a profound rethinking of how we measure economic performance and social progress. As Joseph E. Stiglitz, Amartya Sen and Jean-Paul Fitoussi write in the forward to their book
Blog
Sean McElwee

Walmart Could Give Big Raises Without Raising Prices, Demos Think Tank Says

Walmart, enmeshed in a debate over low wages highlighted by a food drive for employees at a Canton store, can significantly raise the salaries of sales clerks and other workers without having to find additional money for the pay hikes, says a research brief by a think tank.
In the media
Olivera Perkins

How Wall Street — Not Pensioners — Wrecked Detroit

In its house editorial yesterday, USA Today retold the now-accepted story of Detroit’s bankruptcy. Railing on “reckless public pensions,” the newspaper told its readers that the Motor City is “Exhibit A for municipal irresponsibility” because it allegedly “negotiated generous pensions” that were too
In the media
David Sirota

Report: Detroit Bankruptcy Caused by State cuts, Shrinking Tax Base, not Long-term Debt

A New York-based think tank released a report today questioning Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr’s assertion that the city’s long-term debt is responsible for its fiscal problems, or that pension contributions are at major hurdle for the city’s finances. Instead, the report by Wallace Turbeville
In the media
Todd Spangler
Matt Helms

Is Nimble Government Even Possible?

Remember President Obama's big proposal to streamline how the federal government promotes business and trade? No, you probably don't. That's because the proposal disappeared without a trace last year after meeting resistance from various powers that be and getting forgotten by the very president who
Blog
David Callahan

Report Shows Real Factors Behind Detroit Crisis: Revenue Decline, Wall Street Deals Play Largest Role

Modest Pension Benefits Play Little Role in Financial Crisis DETROIT — In their push for bankruptcy, Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr and other public figures are incorrectly looking at Detroit’s long-term debt—figures generated using aggressive and in some cases inaccurate assumptions—to the detriment
Press release/statement

Govern, Don’t Obstruct: We Need a Working Senate

They just don’t want to let President Obama govern. That conclusion is hard to avoid after the last few months of shutdowns, threats, and now unprecedented obstruction in the Senate that culminated in the third filibuster in three weeks of President Obama’s judicial nominees.
Blog
Liz Kennedy

Wal-Mart's No Good, Very Bad, Pre-Thanksgiving Week

This is supposed to be a cheery season for retailers. Not at Wal-Mart (WMT), though, where it’s been a really bad week—and this is only Wednesday. On Monday, the Cleveland Plain Dealer broke the news of a holiday food drive at an Ohio Walmart store—for its own employees. The newspaper story
In the media
Susan Berfield