Media

The wealthy are remarkably adept at feeling vicitimized, despite their unprecedented income gains over the past few decades and their unparalleled level of political clout in a democracy where money equals free speech. 

A new study from Brandeis University’s Institute on Assets and Social Policy shows a dramatic increase in the wealth gap between white and African-American families from 1984 to 2009. The study is remarkable in its depth, as it followed the same set of families over the 25-year period. The total wealth gap between white and African-American families rose from $85,000 in 1984 to $236,500 in 2009.

Ever wonder why the government seems fine with cutting unemployment benefits and welfare programs? Part of the answer may be that the rich vote more than the poor.

It's time to ensure that workers, no matter what their immigration status, have the same rights, and that their status isn't used an excuse to justify abusive behavior. 

The U.S. political system is increasingly gamed against Americans of modest means — a situation exacerbated in recent years by major changes in the nation's campaign laws.

Why elected officials are turning away from the economic policies that long guaranteed hardworking Americans the opportunity to join the middle class.

I attended the oral argument in the Voting Rights Act case before the U.S. Supreme Court, and I came away even more convinced that the Court should uphold the contested parts of the law.

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act requires that covered states "preclear" their proposed election law changes with federal officials. Nine states plus parts of seven others are "covered," and many of these areas are in the South.

MIAMI — Louis D. Brandeis, the American jurist, famously warned: “We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”

The U.S. political system is increasingly gamed against Americans of modest means — a situation exacerbated in recent years by major changes in the nation's campaign laws.

That's the overriding takeaway from a new report slated for release today by Demos, a left-leaning nonprofit public policy group "working for an America where we all have an equal say in our democracy and an equal chance in our economy."