Search Demos.org

This Demos Explainer explores the tension between political support for deficit reduction versus job creation and economic security policies. 

Unions were instrumental in creating the American middle class, and today they continue to empower millions of Americans to bargain for wages and benefits that are capable of sustaining a middle-class standard of living.

How Walmart has wielded its market power to change the face of American industry and lower labor standards in the retail sector.

Public-sector jobs in Massachusetts are more likely than private-sector jobs to be good jobs that provide a family-supporting income and wealth-building benefits. They need to be preserved.

Student loans are treated differently than almost every other form of debt incurred by American households. 

26 state policies for a race-forward, populist agenda to empower all Americans.

The Debt-Free College Act of 2018 would create a new federal-state partnership that re-funds our neglected system of public colleges and job training.

Connecticut’s investment in higher education has decreased considerably over the past two decades, and its financial aid programs, though still some of the country’s most expansive, fail to reach many students with financial need.

Virginia’s investment in higher education has decreased considerably over the past two decades, and its financial aid programs, though still some of the country’s most expansive, fail to reach many students with financial need.

If nearly 70 percent of graduates are borrowing, 30 percent (including 35 percent of public college graduates) are not. Who are these students? What type of family or financial resources do they have at their disposal? What are their work habits? In short, what does it take to graduate debt-free these days? This brief answers these questions.

How a Shared Definition of College Affordability Exposes a Crisis for Low-Income Students

Most states have very far to go in making their selective public institutions representative, and thus truly public.

Why a return to a debt-free system of public universities and colleges would help revive the promise of affordable higher education regardless of one’s family income.

As with any big reform, the push for debt-free college has been met with pushback among a skeptical elite. We have answers for their major concerns.

How the retail industry fails to meet the needs of the Black and Latino workforce.

New Jersey’s investment in higher education has decreased considerably over the past two decades, and its financial aid programs, though still some of the country’s most expansive, fail to reach many students with financial need.

Why President Obama’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplace Executive Order must be implemented under the new administration.

Due to disinvestment, a lack of grant aid, and the rising cost of living, Arizona’s students face a steep hill in paying for college.

From the time a baby is born, American families are trapped between the need to provide care for their children and the necessity of earning income. 

A Federal-State Partnership to Increase State Investment and Return to Debt-Free Public Higher Education