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From cutting-edge policy research to illuminating analysis, we bring a racial equity lens to the most pressing issues facing our country. For our latest blog posts and media updates, visit our Media page.

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Cover of 'Solving the Affordability Crisis' by People's Action and Dēmos: a rising staircase of icons representing groceries, health care, energy, housing, and child care, each topped with dollar bills."

Solving the Affordability Crisis

The affordability crisis is the result of policy choices — and different choices can reverse it. This report from Dēmos and People's Action traces why housing, utilities, food, health care, and child care have become unaffordable, and five structural solutions for building a people-powered, racially just economy.

Policy Briefs
Demos
People's Action
A Black care worker in scrubs reviews a clipboard with an older Black woman seated on a couch. In the background, composite images show caregivers working with children and supporting elderly adults, overlaid with illustrated icons representing justice, economic opportunity, and care.

Empowering Care Workers: The Key to a Better Care Economy

Good care jobs are the foundation of a good care economy. Empowering care workers through better pay, stronger protections, and collective voice would improve care quality, reduce workforce shortages, and advance racial and economic equity.

Policy Briefs
Nick Wertsch
Row of empty voting booths in a school gym

Missing Voters: The Real Threat to Alabama's Democracy

More than 815,000 Alabamians are missing from the electoral process. In this report, Stand Up Mobile, Dēmos, and Southern Coalition for Social Justice examine who's missing, why, and what Alabama must do to fix it.

Research
Beverly Cooper
Dustin Tyler Broughton
Keshia Morris Desir
Jens Manuel Krogstad
Lucy Krueger
Sarah Ovaska

The Third Anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act: Taking Stock of Financial Reform

Three years have passed since David (the American public) defeated Goliath (the big banks) and the Dodd-Frank Act became law. Implementation staggers forward and there have been some recent encouraging developments. But, overall, there is reason for serious concern about the fate of financial reform
Policy Briefs
Wallace C. Turbeville

What Is Early Voting?

Early voting provides a means for eligible voters to cast their ballots at a time and location other than in person on Election Day.

Policy Briefs
Steven Carbó
Estelle Rogers

Letter to the President on Low-Wages

 

Testimony and Public Comment

Who Decides When A Corporation Spends Money in Politics?

In Citizens United v. FEC, the U.S. Supreme Court held that corporations were free to use money from the corporation’s treasury on political activity.1 Setting aside for a moment the many criticisms of the decision, Citizens United left open a number of questions about who at a corporation should
Research
Liz Kennedy

The Regulator Who Can Stop the Next AIG

CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler has often said that weak rules on regulatory jurisdiction across borders could blow a hole in the bottom of financial reform. He is right. In a recent speech on the subject, he said: “All of these common- sense reforms Congress mandated, however, could be undone if the
Policy Briefs
Wallace C. Turbeville

Derivatives: Innovation In The Era of Financial Deregulation

This is the third of several papers examining the underlying validity of the assertion that regulation of the financial markets is unduly burdensome. These papers assert that the value of the financial markets is often mis-measured. The efficiency of the market in intermediating flows between
Research
Wallace C. Turbeville

Down the Regulatory Rabbit Hole

Eight examples of the human consequences of delayed regulatory rules.

Research

State of the American Dream: Economic Policy and the Future of the Middle Class

Dramatic new public policy initiatives are needed to accomplish two broad interrelated goals: to ensure that all Americans have a chance to move into the middle class and, second, to ensure greater security for those in the middle class.

Testimony and Public Comment
Amy Traub
Heather C. McGhee

Testimony on Low-Wage Work: How Our Tax Dollars Drive Inequality

Good Afternoon. My name is Amy Traub and I am a senior policy analyst at Demos. We are a public policy organization working for an America where we all have an equal say in our democracy and an equal chance in our economy. I would like to thank the Progressive Caucus for this opportunity to provide
Testimony and Public Comment
Amy Traub

Registering Millions: The Success and Potential of the National Voter Registration Act at 20

The key provisions of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) that have successfully allowed millions of eligible voters to register. 

Research
J. Mijin Cha