According to the consumer advocacy group Demos, from 1992 to 2001, the youngest adults (18 to 24 years old) saw the sharpest rise in credit-card debt-104 percent-to an average of $2,985. The second-highest increase-55 percent-was among young adults (25 to 34 years old), who also had the second highest bankruptcy rate, just after those ages 35 to 44.
According to the educational lender Nellie Mae, incoming college freshmen will amass $1,500 in credit-card debt before the end of their first term.
The children of the New Economy have responded to the economic disparity and social insecurities in our schools, neighborhoods and workplaces with a backlash against government bashing.
Associate Director of the Democracy Program Ludovic Blain testifies before the Vermont Senate Government Operations Committee regarding Election Day Registration.
Experts debate if the housing market is an overinflated bubble, or a strong seller's market.
The forum was sponsored by Demos, a public advocacy group that among other issues concentrates on questions of economic opportunity.
Flaw-proof election machines. Easy-to-read ballots. Registration systems that catch double-voters or dead voters still on the rolls. For top state election officials meeting here, the pressure is on to make sure the election changes demanded after President Bush's disputed 2000 victory are in place by the Jan.
A new report by Demos and the Center for Governmental Studies that shows that current (February 2005) legislation and proposed initiatives on redistricting in California all fail to sufficiently address the needs of the public, and suggests clear guidelines for much fairer redistricting.
Senior Policy Associate Javier Silva examines the new financial insecurities created as more Americans refinance their homes.
That's the short version of a new and disturbing study by Silva called "House of Cards: Refinancing the American Dream." It shows how millions of U.S. households are falling into a vicious cycle of tapping their credit cards and then refinancing their mortgages to extract needed cash from the equity in their homes.
As tuition costs and enrollment rose through the 1990s, grant money did not keep pace, meaning students have been shouldering an ever-increasing share of their education costs. While before, most were able to finance their studies with grants and part-time work, loans are now inescapable for many.
"This generation is the first to shoulder the costs of their college primarily through interest-bearing loans rather than grants," Draut said.
In this preliminary analysis, Demos finds that the right to provisional ballots was violated across the country on November 2, 2004. While all the data on provisional balloting have yet to be collected and assessed, available evidence suggests that Congress and the states must revisit provisional ballot statutes, regulations and procedures if the original "failsafe" voting mandate is to be fully realized.
Steve Carbo, director of the Democracy Program, said voters should be allowed to cast provisional votes even if they vote in the wrong precinct, a practice many states now forbid.
The link between corporate practices and the economic security of Americans has become a major focus of public debate over the past several years. The off-shoring of new kinds of jobs has garnered the most attention, but cutbacks in employee health benefits and the under funding of pension plans has also drawn scrutiny at a time when corporate profits have been robust and executive mismanagement has been widespread.
A combination of escalating student loan and credit-card debt, rising costs, slow wage growth and underemployment have accumulated debt "unmatched in modern history" undermining the economic security and financial health of young Americans aged 18-34, according to a new study.
The report, "Generation Broke: The Growth of Debt Among Younger Americans," was released by Demos, a nonpartisan, public policy group, based on the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances as well as dozens of other sources.
Florida Republicans in Jacksonville have been busy compiling and disseminating lists that many believe will be used to challenge minority voters today.
(A report, "Securing the Vote, a Report on Election Fraud," would suggest the Republicans' concerns are overstated. The paper, released by the nonprofit group Demos, shows that election fraud is at most a minor problem across the 50 states and does not affect election outcomes.)
In November 2004, California will vote on Proposition 62: “The Voter-Choice Open Primary Act.” Currently, voters may vote for the nominees of only one political party. Proposition 62 would replace this “modified-closed” system of party primaries with one in which all candidates for state or federal offices (except for presidential electors) run in a single primary election and only the top-two vote recipients are allowed to run in the general election.
Testimony presented by Tamara Draut, Director of Demos' Economic Opportunity Program, before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit regarding consumer issues in credit card lending.
This report takes a long-term view to expanding the middle class and creating more security among those who do achieve a middle-class life. Looking ahead to where the United States should aspire to be a decade from now, the report advances policy proposals that would be phased in over time and are bold enough to fully meet the challenges at hand. The agenda focuses on higher education, home ownership, and adequate income – three strategies that have historically been pivotal to the expansion of the middle class.
Providing every citizen an equal opportunity to register to vote, equal access to the polls, and assurance that every ballot cast is counted is a complex and daunting task. Success requires a broad range of reforms, some structural and some administrative.