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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

Preparation can blunt 'payment shock'

That all portends "payment shock" for those with adjustable-rate mortgages whose loans are due soon to adjust, said Javier Silva, senior research and policy associate with the public policy research group Demos in New York City. "Lots of ARM customers are experiencing payment shock already, and we
In the media
Michele Derus

Debt Is a House of Cards

According to Javier Silva, a senior research and policy associate with Demos, a New York think tank and public policy organization, homeowners' equity fell from an average of 68.3 percent to 55 percent between 1973 and 2004. Americans now own a smaller stake in their homes than they used to. In the
In the media
Aurrice Duke

The Letter Your Bank Will Never Send

According to a Demos study, Americans from 2001 to 2003 cashed out $333 billion in equity from their homes. Many did so to pay off credit card debt and finance ongoing living expenses -- both good and noble financial causes. The study concluded that Americans own less of their homes today than they
In the media
Dayana Yochim

Comment: Count Your Blessings, Not Your Money

Professor Robert Frank of Cornell University, the author of Luxury Fever, compares conspicuous consumption in an economy like ours to the military arms race, and we already know that's destined to end in mutually assured destruction. The key to countering this headlong rush towards ever-more
In the media
Brenda Power

Bursting the Housing Bubble's Bubble

"Appraisal fraud is part of a bigger, more ominous picture," says David Callahan, Home Insecurity author and Director of Research at Demos. "As home prices have continued to increase above inflation, even nearing 20 percent per year in some cities, American homeowners are vulnerable as never before
In the media
Kevin Forrester

U.S.: Consumers Are Finally Shifting Into Lower Gear

Hefty heating bills will take the biggest bite out of the finances of households that are already struggling.
In the media

Your Excuses Aren't Good Enough

"The Plastic Safety Net" study found that middle- and low-income households were racking up credit card balances just to cover everyday expenses. One-third of the 1,000 survey respondents said that basic living expenses contributed to their current debt level.
In the media
Dayana Yochim

Credit Card Firms Raise Minimum Payments

Last week, New York-based consumer action group Demos and the Center for Responsible Lending released findings from a new report, "The Plastic Safety Net: The Reality of Household Debt in America." The survey results found that 7 out of 10 low- and middle-income families are using their credit cards
In the media
Roy L. Williams

Credit Cards Seen As 'Safety Net'

One-third of low- and middle-income consumers are using their credit cards to pay basic living expenses - including their monthly mortgage, according to a new study. CRL and Demos also found that even though consumers are using home-equity loans to pay down their credit cards, many households are
In the media

Bankruptcy's New Day

The average credit card debt of low- and middle-income indebted households was $8,650, according to the study from Demos and the Center for Responsible Lending. The more stringent law comes at a tough time for American consumers. A survey released last week showed that total credit card debt now
In the media