Some presidential candidates' critiques promote unhelpful assumptions about who tuition-free and debt-free college would actually serve. (Spoiler: it's not millionaires and billionaires.)
"The percent of low-income students borrowing for a bachelor’s degree is unconscionably high, particularly if you consider their debt loads as a percent of their family income and wealth. Even if low-income students and high-income students were borrowing the exact same amount for college, that debt is a far greater burden relative to their family wealth.”
"In today’s competitive economy, nothing is more important than getting a college education. Yet college tuition costs in the U.S. have been increasing at a breakneck pace, making college unaffordable for millions of Americans.”
"Income is actually a somewhat imperfect way to judge whether or not a family is financially secure. The typical black family making $100,000 has a lot less wealth than the typical white family making $100,000."
Washington, DC — Today, thousands of Americans are gathering on the streets of Chicago to march against financial service industry excess that has cost the American taxpayers trillions of dollars, destabilized the economy and undermined the stability of millions of US households.
In response to the public outcry against excesses in the financial services industries, dubbed "The Showdown in Chicago", the following statement was issued from Heather McGhee, director of the Washington DC, Office for the public policy and research center Demos:
In the last ten days, the House has passed two much-needed bills for Black and brown people and working people of all backgrounds. The PRO Act, is the most far-reaching reshaping of U.S. labor law in decades. The CREDIT Act would overhaul the nation’s credit reporting system.
Bloomberg has quietly begun to roll out a series of policy proposals, and this week, it was higher education’s turn. His plan says a lot about where consensus currently is—and is not.
New York, NY —A growing number of young students are turning to more affordable community colleges for their higher education, but only an alarming two out of five finish a degree within six years of enrollment, according to a new report published today.
“These are folks who are serving [and] preparing food for all of the rest of us. It's a recipe for contagion when...the people preparing your food cannot afford to stay home when they have a contagious disease.”
Findings Show Skyrocketing Costs, Dwindling Savings, Stagnant Wages and Medical Debt Major Factors
New York, NY — As the recession continues to squeeze financially vulnerable American households, they are turning to credit cards to make ends meet, according to "The Plastic Safety Net: How Households are Coping in a Fragile Economy," a new report published today by Demos, a national research and policy center.