"The Supreme Court's decision is another boulder on the chests of millions of Americans burdened by the suffocating weight of lifelong student loan debt."
"Any action, plan, or agenda not rooted in equity to address the student loan debt crisis undermines America’s legitimacy in being a world leader that truly cares about the future of its people."
This case study highlights how New Economy Project and the Public Bank NYC coalition are pressing for the creation of a public bank for New York City, as part of a broader vision for economic and racial justice.
This case study follows the Texas Organizing Project as it worked to build power and equity for working-class Black & Latino communities in greater Houston after Hurricane Harvey—ultimately implementing a winning 3-part inside-outside strategy.
The Economic Democracy Project aims to highlight and develop strategies that Black and brown communities can use to build economic and political power—beginning with four case studies spotlighting community campaigns across the U.S.
"For the sake of millions — people watching their rents go up while their wages don’t, parents who need support in tackling the ever-rising cost of child care, and seniors who regularly must decide whether they can afford their bills or their pills — the Senate must pass this legislation.”
“The student debt crisis is yet another example of the deep and structural racial injustice at that heart of our economy. It prevents Black and Brown families from building wealth and economic power and has undermined the fundamental goal of higher education as a public good."
To fairly evaluate any higher education reform proposal, we must understand the ways that these dual burdens—less wealth and more debt—lead to worse outcomes for Black students than white students.
Today, Demos proposed establishing a public credit registry, housed in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as an essential part of a larger effort to reshape rules around debt and lending in order to reduce racial wealth inequality.
Today, Democratic members of the House of Representatives released the Aim Higher Act, a bill that would reauthorize the Higher Education Act, the federal law which authorizes a broad range of student aid programs and governs the federal role in higher education.
Demos, a public policy organization based in New York, has this response:
Empirical data showing policymakers, organizers, and progressives that there is clear public support for the notion that racism is a divide-and-conquer tactic creating distrust, undermining belief in government, and causing economic pain for everyone, of every color.