New York, NY — The 2008 presidential campaign ended with a sharp moral debate about "spreading the wealth" in the United States. With national concern about a barrage of bad economic news--from the financial meltdown on Wall Street to the near-bankruptcy of the American auto-industry — which, coupled with bailouts and controversial tax plans proposed by the new Administration, have moved the issue of wealth distribution to the forefront of public debate.
Credit reports and scores control access to public goods people need. Yet, in the midst of a global pandemic and economic collapse, remaking the nation’s credit reporting system is not the top concern.
The response to the COVID-19 crisis must include investments in public goods and health infrastructure, breaking up concentrated economic power, and equitable access for Black and brown communities.
“They collect our data without our permission. They profit from our data. They fail to invest in processes to verify accuracy. And their models are not transparent. This puts Black and Brown consumers at a serious disadvantage.”
The Biden administration should implement its public credit registry proposal to shift power away from an oligopoly that exercises inordinate control over consumers’ financial prospects and towards a fairer system that better respects consumers and reduces racial inequality.
Report Shows How Crisis Will Continue to Impact Small Business, Student Borrowers, Homeowners
New York — The household economy — especially small business, homeowners and student borrowers — will continue to suffer during a sever tightening of lending credit and capital, in spite of the federal rescue plan, according to a new report by the non-partisan public policy center Demos.
The For the People Act outlines a vision of what’s possible when our nation lives up to its promise of being a place where all people can lift their voices via their votes and their small dollar contributions.
The winter storm disaster in Texas was a crisis fueled by a failure to address climate change and the influence of oil and gas companies in state and local politics.
The American Rescue Act will provide economic relief and investments in Black and Brown communities. Yet, for all its strengths, there are still significant limitations.
Sergio Ramirez's case, TransUnion v. Ramirez, reveals how credit reporting companies like TransUnion have little incentive to invest in making credit reports more accurate and avoiding serious mix-ups.
Corporate and far-right special interests incite deficit fears by manufacturing an artificial crisis around debt. This has consolidated wealth and power in predominantly white corporate hands—and at the expense of Black and brown communities—for decades.
Learn why the 6 policies of our Inclusive Democracy Agenda are critical to building power in Black and brown communities and how organizers are fighting to protect and strengthen our democracy.
Taifa Smith Butler, joins News NOW on Black Women’s Equal Pay Day to discuss why Black women in America have to work 579 days to earn what a white man does in one year and how companies can work to combat this pay disparity and inequality.
"Although credit scores never formally take race into account, they draw on data about personal borrowing and payment history that is shaped by generations of discriminatory public policies and corporate practices that limit access to wealth for Black and Latinx families."