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We are changing the conversation around our democracy and economy by telling influential new stories about our country and its people. Get our latest media updates here.

Not So Quick on Canceling Debt

In FY 2014, per-student state appropriations for higher education were 24 percent below the funding level in 1989. The result, also shown in the chart, is that net tuition revenue (the tuition received by public colleges and universities after grant aid is subtracted) has more than doubled during this period. Considering that three-quarters of all undergraduates are enrolled in public institutions, it’s not surprising that this increase in tuition prices has led to a large increase in student loan borrowing.
In the media
Donald E. Heller

Retail Industry Fosters Racial Income Inequality: Naacp, Demos Study

The NAACP and Demos, a public policy organization, have partnered to produce a new paper, “The Retail Race Divide: How the Retail Industry is Perpetuating Racial Inequality in the 21st Century” that finds a disproportionate number of Black and Latino workers in the retail industry live below the poverty line.
 
“Like the overall retail workforce, the vast majority of Black retail workers are adults,” says the report in its Key Findi
In the media
Tonya Garcia

May Jobs Report: 43 Percent of All Jobs Gains Were Low-Wage

The May jobs report from the Department of Labor is out, and while 280,000 jobs were added to the economy, 43% of all job gains were in the low wage sector. 

The overall unemployment rate is 5.5%, and the rate for African Americans and Latinos is still higher than the rate for whites, coming in at 10.2% and 6.7% respectively. The unemployment rate for whites is currently 4.7%. 

In the media
Adriana Maestas

Home Ownership: Key to Bridging Wealth Gap

It's no secret the wealth gap between African American and White households is widening. However, the estimated median wealth between the two groups would jump a whopping 450 percent if African Americans owned homes at the same rates as Whites, according to a study released earlier this year by a New York City-based think tank.

In the media
Glenn Townes

Vermont to Launch Same-Day Voter Registration

Vermont will allow voters to cast ballots the same day they register to vote, effective January 2017. It used to be that voters would need to register close to a week before casting a ballot, but that’s changing.

In the media
Jack Thurston

One Chart Shows the Depressingly Racist Truth About Voter ID Laws You Tried to Ignore

Republicans claim voter ID laws aren't racist, but numbers don't lie.

Sean McElwee, a researcher for progressive think tank Demos, compared measures of racist sentiments among white people in each of the 50 states (such as whether they believe blacks are trustworthy or intelligent) to dataon voting laws in each state, including when they were introduced and how strict they are.

In the media
Tom McKay

Vermont’s Same-Day Registration Bill is a Key Step to Fixing Our Electoral System

Demos Vice President of Policy & Outreach Lenore Palladino issued the following statement on Vermont’s passage of Same-Day Registration:

"Demos applauds Vermont’s passage of Same-Day Registration (SDR), which will allow residents to register to vote and then cast a regular ballot in a one-stop process at every polling location. Every eligible American should have an equal opportunity to vote, and it should be free, fair and easily accessible. SDR is an important step to ensure this happens.

Press release/statement

North Carolina in Violation of "Motor Voter" Law

Voting Rights Groups Call on State to Fix Voter Registration at DMVs, or Face Litigation

Press release/statement

Vermont Enacts Same-Day Registration

Officially count Vermont as the latest state to usher in Same-Day Registration.

Blog
Damon L. Daniels