Media

The high-priced ads, which could reach an audience of more than 100 million, are just the latest indication that catering to student loan borrowers can be big business. Companies are now offering credit cards with rewards geared to student loan help and tools to help borrowers monitor their debt. Employers are even looking to lure talent with benefits packages that include student loan help.

But progressive groups say that the Ohio law goes too far. They argue the state’s methods kick off eligible voters while leaving ineligible people on the rolls, and that Ohio doesn’t make it clear that people will lose their chance to vote if they don’t respond to the state’s mailer. “Their real agenda, in my view, is to get people off the rolls so they don’t participate,” says Stuart Naifeh, senior counsel at Demos, a liberal think tank.

The unemployment rate underestimates the problem of joblessness.This underestimation is very significant for African American workers.

The 25 bold must-do policies address the top challenges facing hard-working people across America

Overseas students subsidize other students and programs, as they often pay higher fees, said Mark Huelsman, a senior policy analyst at Demos, a left-leaning think tank. “Many colleges and, in particular, public colleges have relied on international students paying full-freight in order to make up for budget shortfalls elsewhere,” he said. [...]

“The closer we get to the elections, the more difficult it will be to remedy any maps that are held unconstitutional in time for the election,” Stuart Naifeh, of the Demos think tank in New York, told Bloomberg Law. Demos is involved in its own high court voting challenge over voter purges by Republicans in Ohio.[...]

[T]he pain of retail sector hemorrhaging will be most severe for Black workers considering retail is the second largest Black population employer. Nearly 12 percent of retail workers are Black – close to their overall population ratio. And 54 percent of Black retail workers are supporting households, according to think tank Demos, the highest proportion of any demographic group in that sector. Black retail workers also suffer the highest poverty rates.

According to Amy Traub of the think tank Demos, “many advocates are worried that it’s the beginning of a larger effort to undo the CFPB’s successful work of protecting consumers.” The payday-lending sector has historically preyed on poor, “underbanked” communities, marketing short-term loans at astronomically high interest rates. Payday loans trade on exploitative debt schemes, as borrowers spiral into a deepening cycle of repeated over-borrowing and financial crisis.

“A bipartisan deal is mandatory—and achievable—to keep the government open.” Heather McGhee is president of Demos.