New U.S. Census data released on July 19 confirm what we already knew about American elections: Voter turnout in the United States is among the lowest in the developed world. Only 42 percent of Americans voted in the 2014 midterm elections, the lowest level of voter turnout since 1978. And midterm voters tend to be older, whiter and richer than the general population.
The implications of a state labor board's July 22 decision to raise the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $15 an hour from $8.75 are clear: Other industries with low-wage workers could find themselves facing a similar pay hike soon.
Next up is likely the retail industry, followed by home care, child care and even adjunct professors, said Amy Traub, a senior policy analyst at Demos, a liberal think tank.
"The patchwork of wage hikes by locality and industry, as well as the falling unemployme
Like every generation before us, Americans are coming together to preserve a democracy of the people, by the people, and for the people. American democracy is premised on the consent of the governed, and on the idea that we all deserve a say in the government decisions that affect our families. We stand united supporting commonsense protections that recognize the people as the ultimate check on the corrosive influence of money in politics, which is eroding the very foundation of self-government.
This is a joint effort by the following organizations:
The dominance of big money in our politics makes it far harder for people of color to exert political power and effectively advocate for their interests as both wealth and power are consolidated by a small, very white, share of the population.
Our hearts are shrouded, but our vision is clear: we see a world without fear for all of our people—a world where there is no dispute that #BlackLivesMatter.
Demos Vice President of Policy and Research Tamara Draut issued the following statement:
"After two months of deliberations, hearings, and moving testimonies, the wage board created by Governor Cuomo voted yesterday to recommend a wage increase in a series of steps to $15 an hour by 2018 in New York City and by 2021 in the rest of the state. Fast-food workers’ decision to challenge their powerful corporate bosses was a huge risk—and it paid off.
...while fast food may be an extreme case, it is hardly the only industry – in New York or nationwide – where front-line workers are underpaid and inequality is metastasizing. In fact, our economy is increasingly built on job growth in the most unequal industries: a trend that concentrates more and more income at the top and makes it even more difficult for working people to share in the benefits of economic growth.
That’s why the push to raise wages won’t stop with fast food –or with New York.
Chanting "$15.00 and a union," thousands of federal contract workers walked off their jobs yesterday, led by the Senate's cafeteria workers who serve Senators their food. They were joined by Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, and members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, led by Keith Ellison (D-Minn) and Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz). Sanders announced they were introducing legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15.00 an hour.
The New York fast food wage board today recommended a wage increase in a series of steps to $15 an hour by 2018 in New York City and by 2021 in the rest of the state.
Five years ago today, I attended the bill signing for the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which promised to restore sensible safeguards and standards for the financial sector so that the devastation of the financial crisis felt mostly by low- and middle-income Americans would not be repeated.
Given the David and Goliath odds that reformers faced in challenging the sector with the most influence in Washington, we had much to celebrate—and still do.
While the highest income bracket noticed a drop another source that analyzes the wealthiest one percent found that in 2008, 99 percent voted, which shows that the very peak of wealth controls most of what happens in America.
Five years ago on July 16, 2010, Congress enacted the Dodd-Frank Act. It promised unprecedented regulation of the financial sector so that the devastation of the 2008 financial crisis that was visited mostly on middle- and low-income Americans in the form of the Great Recession would not be repeated. Though the law was far from perfect, Dodd-Frank includes many important reforms, from bulwarks against the systemic risks of casino capitalism to protection against predatory consumer lending.
This checklist was created in partnership with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
Debt-free college means all students in America should be able graduate without debt. This big idea would expand economic opportunity, expand America's economy, and improve quality of life for millions of people.
Debt-free college is a result that can be achieved through multiple means.
Entire movements are based around these economic realities: the minimum wage is too low to live on. Eligibility for overtime pay must be broadened so that workers are fairly compensated for all of the time they work. Basic workplace standards need to be improved.
Tomorrow, Hillary Clinton will release the names of her top bundlers, wealthy people who have reached the individual contribution limit and therefore volunteer to collect checks from their rich friends to give to candidates in a “bundle.” Many bundlers bring in millions—in 2008, bundlers who brought in more than $100,000 were called “HillRaisers.”
As Hillary Clinton takes the podium at the New School today for a major economic policy address said to focus on issues important to families, she has her work cut out for her.
The stories of our clients—Sherry Denise Holverson, Isabel Najera, and Alexandria Lane—are not outliers, but rather represent a problem that has been occurring across the state of North Carolina.
The missing link in the inequality debate is not financial stability, but financial domination of the broader economy, what has come to be called “financialization.” Financialization, as a new Demos report demonstrates, is not only measurable by risk and volatility or by the mere expanding volume of financial activities; rather, it should also be measured by how the non-financial economy—the economy of jobs and wages, production and enterprise growth—is increasingly dist
