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Imagine there are two ways to fight poverty: Option A, we accept an economy where a third of all jobs pay near-poverty wages, but we spend hundreds of billions of dollars annually on transfer payments to lift millions of Americans technically above the poverty line. Or Option B: we do what it takes to transform the economy so enough good jobs exist that anyone who works hard can afford a decent life and save enough for a secure retirement.

Saving for retirement was once a lot easier than it is now.

Your employer offered you a pension, which guaranteed you a certain amount of income in retirement.

A potential showdown could begin on Monday as Congress reconvenes and is expected to take up the issue of extending long-term unemployment benefits.

I’m usually a pessimist, but New York’s mayoral inauguration on New Year's Day gave me a strange feeling that politics had long stopped providing—hope. One expects the usual pomp and circumstance at these events: politicos, celebrities, prominent donors with the right amount of tradition, pop culture, and promises of a better day. But rarely do you hear of a twelve year old stealing the spotlight from those with last names like Clinton and Cuomo, but that’s just what Dasani Coates, a so-called “Invisible Child,” did.

Demos Vice President of Policy and Outreach Heather McGhee voices support for Senator Warren's Equal Employment for

Voting rights advocates are girding for a series of crucial battles that will play out over the next twelve months in Congress, in the courts, and in state legislatures. Victories could go a long way to reversing the setbacks of the last year. Defeats could help cement a new era in which voting is more difficult, especially for racial minorities, students, and the poor.

A few years ago, I got pulled over on my bicycle by a police officer, also riding a bike, because I wasn't wearing a helmet -- which the officer incorrectly said was required by law. It's episodes like that which give the nanny state a bad name. 

Middle-class Blacks are using credit to help cover their basic living expenses, according to a report from the NAACP and public policy research organization Demos. In the recession’s aftermath, 79 percent of middle-class African-American households carry credit card debt.