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STATEMENT: Voting Rights Group Condemns Anti-voter Bills in Three States, Urges Citizens to Take Action

New York, NY — Today, Demos, a national election reform and voting rights organization, issued the following statement condemning the passage of new restrictive voter ID requirements in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Georgia. Ohio Gov. Bob Taft and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue have already signed the bills, while the bills in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania will arrive at their governors' desks next week.

Press release/statement

Are We Better Off Today?

And much of that debt has been accrued covering everyday items. Seven out of 10 households reported using their credit cards to pay for car repairs, basic living expenses or house repairs, in effect using debt as their "safety net," according to that same study. One out of three families reported using credit cards to cover basic living expenses for on average four of the last 12 months.

In the media
Aleksandra Todorova

"Mind the Gap: Income Inequality, State By State"

Robert Frank, an economist at Cornell University, for instance, found that in counties with the widest income gaps, rates of personal bankruptcy and divorce rates were higher than average.
In the media
Jeanne Sahadi

Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30- Something's Can't Get Ahead by Tamara Draut

New York, NY — Today marks the release of a groundbreaking new book; STRAPPED: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead (Doubleday; On-Sale January 17, 2006), written by Tamara Draut, Economic Opportunity Director at Demos.

Press release/statement

The It-Sucks-To-Be-Me Generation

Draut argues that "with the possible exception of having a larger array of entertainment and other goods to purchase, members of Generation X appear to be worse off by every measure" than prior generations.

In the media
Daniel Gross

STATEMENT: National Survey Shows That Americans Want Campaign Finance Reform

Boston, MA — A Poll commissioned by the National Voting Rights Institute (NVRI) revealed overwhelming support for election campaign spending limits as a way of improving the fairness, honesty and integrity of elections.

Press release/statement

Fast Facts About Credit Card Debt

According to the advocacy group Demos, the average balance among lower- and middle-income households is $8,650.   "World News Tonight's" special series "Credit Crunch" aims to help you get on the road to becoming debt free.
In the media

Pumping Up Prices

A fraudulent appraisal "can lead homeowners to borrow more money than their homes are worth, putting themselves at risk of being 'upside down' in a home -- e.g. not being able to sell for a high enough price to pay off their mortgage," according to a briefing paper on appraisal fraud put out by Demos, a New York-based think tank.
In the media
Will Carless

Newly Bankrupt Raking In Piles of Credit Offers

Americans owe $800 billion in credit card debt, more than triple the amount from 1989, and a 31 percent increase from five years ago, according to a recent report, "The Plastic Safety Net," by the Center for Responsible Lending, and Demos, a research group based in New York.   The study found that a third of low- and middle-income American households used credit cards for basic expenses - rent, groceries and utilities - in any 4 of the last 12 months.  

Those with the worst credit card debt were people ages 50 to 64, who owed $9,124

In the media
Timothy Egan