Media

Not since the years before the Watergate scandal has a small cadre of mega-donors influenced our elections as much as wealthy givers such as casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, Texas homebuilder Bob Perry, and Chicago media mogul Fred Eychaner did in 2012.

Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) plans on Friday to propose expanding early voting days in Maryland and, for the first time, allowing residents to register on the same day that they cast ballots — moves certain to rankle Republicans.

Steven Carbo, state advocacy director for Demos, a national group that seeks to expand voter participation, said fraud has not been much of an issue in same-day registration states that have adequate safeguards in place. Those include requiring voters to take an oath to confirm their identity, with stiff penalties for those who lie.

At a panel discussion this morning, labor leaders stressed the importance of climate change to their members work and health.

A proposal to adjust how Social Security benefit increases are calculated did not make it into the final fiscal cliff deal. Nor did various ideas for making affluent Medicare recipients pay more in premiums or deductibles.  

A recent survey by Demos found that middle-income Americans 50 years of age and older have more credit card debt, on average, than younger Americans, a finding opposite of that reported in a 2008 survey.

The report revealed that older American households had an average credit card balance of $8,278 in 2012, while households with members under age 50 carried an average credit card balance of $6,258.

When was the last time you contributed $1,000 to a political candidate or cause?  For the majority of donors to Senate candidates, the answer is "very recently."

New York, NY — New York activists will rally for democracy under the banner “Money Out, Voters In” on Saturday, January 19, the weekend marking civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday and the anniversary of the damaging Citizen’s United Supreme Court decision. People in over 65 cities and 32 states are rallying to demand lawmakers pass measures that limit the corrosive influence of money in politics and expand democratic participation at the polls.  

In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina, Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed a registry that would allow disaster responders to know where to find people most urgently in need of aid. But he does not appear to have followed through.

If you thought credit card debt was mostly a young person's problem, think again. In 2012, Americans age 50 and older actually owed more on their credit cards, on average, than younger people in low- and middle-income households carrying credit card debt.