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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

Report: Higher retail wages would be a win-win-win for companies, workers, consumers

Retail companies don't have to choose between high wages and high profits, argues a new report from the researchers at Demos. In Retail’s Hidden Potential, policy analyst Catherine Ruetschlin says that higher wages across the retail industry would create jobs and reduce poverty without cutting
In the media
Ned Resnikoff

Pressure on Big Retailers to Boost Retail Pay

Black Friday has heaped new pressure on big box stores to bump up worker pay, with a group of Walmart employees plotting a walkout on the country’s biggest shopping day and the think tank Demos releasing a study Monday that touts the benefits of higher wages.
In the media
Josh Boak

Retail Sector’s Hidden Potential To Boost Lagging Economy, Create Jobs, Improve Consumer Experience, and Lift 1.5 Million People Out of Poverty

NEW YORK - Just in time for Black Friday, when consumers rely on scores of retail workers to help them navigate the stressful holiday season, a new study released today by national public policy center Demos, Retail’s Hidden Potential: How Raising Wages Would Benefit Workers, the Industry and the
Press release/statement

Extraction Industry: Wall Street's Cut of Capital Is Too Big

How and why large financial institutions damage the middle class even if there is no financial crisis.
Blog
Wallace C. Turbeville

To Boost the Economy and the Retail Industry, Raise Retail Wages

If Walmart and other major retailers would just raise worker wages to a livable level, not only would 700,000 people be lifted out of poverty, but the economy and retail sales would grow. That's the conclusion of a new report by Demos' Catherine Ruetschlin, anyway. And her argument has backup in
In the media
Laura Clawson

What Would The Federal Reserve Do If Retail Wages Surged?

Catherine Ruetschlin has produced an outside-the-box policy brief for Demos arguing for "a new wage floor for the lowest-paid retail workers equivalent to $25,000 per year for a full-time, year-round retail worker at the nation’s largest retail companies—those employing at least 1,000 workers."
In the media
Matt Yglesias

Lessons of 2012: Pushing Back Against Voter Suppression

The right to vote is just that – a fundamental right which is the cornerstone of American democracy. In the 2012 election, that sacred value was challenged in a way we have not seen in a couple of generations.
Blog
Tova Wang

Retail Wage Increases Would Benefit Entire Economy and Additional Retail Sales, With Negligible Price Increase

Walmart executives worried about the recent spate of labor activity against the retailer would probably tell you that they cannot possibly offer higher wages to their employees while maintaining their brand identifier of low prices. They offer what the market will bear in terms of wages, they would
In the media
David Dayen

No Cupcake: Workers Turn Down Bad Deal from Hostess

There have been a number of news stories about the closing of Hostess’ factories and plans to liquidate the company in the wake of the refusal of one of its unions to accept reductions in pay and benefits and other concessions. It appears as though this will leave Hostess’ 18,000 workers without a
Blog
Dean Baker

Generation Debt Turns Out to be Baby Boomers

Baby boomers are the first generation in American history to be entering retirement saddled with debt, including unpaid balances on credit cards. The financial crisis in 2008 that sent the economy into a recession crippled many baby boomers’ retirement accounts, forcing many to stay in the workforce
In the media
Roman Shteyn