Written testimony of Demos Associate Director of Policy and Research, Amy Traub before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services
Big companies are using data to preserve the power imbalance that keeps them rich. This economic model is rooted in chattel slavery and relies on the extraction and commodification of data.
Corporate and far-right special interests incite deficit fears by manufacturing an artificial crisis around debt. This has consolidated wealth and power in predominantly white corporate hands—and at the expense of Black and brown communities—for decades.
The Executive Order on Racial Equity represents a firm commitment by the Biden Administration to champion racial equity and to advance equitable practices in data collection and data provision.
Corporate America took a stand for equality and democracy against the state of Georgia. Yet, the unbalanced economic system they’re part of creates an opportunity to reassess corporate power in our society.
Taifa Smith Butler is a visionary leader who brings more than 20 years of experience in strategic communications, public policy research, and data analysis in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors. She will lead Demos starting July 1, 2021.
Sergio Ramirez's case, TransUnion v. Ramirez, reveals how credit reporting companies like TransUnion have little incentive to invest in making credit reports more accurate and avoiding serious mix-ups.
The American Rescue Act will provide economic relief and investments in Black and Brown communities. Yet, for all its strengths, there are still significant limitations.
This Black History Month (and into March), workers at Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama warehouse have the power to keep making history by voting for their union.
The winter storm disaster in Texas was a crisis fueled by a failure to address climate change and the influence of oil and gas companies in state and local politics.
The hardships faced by Amazon’s warehouse employees are well known and now Black workers in Alabama are organizing, challenging power, and leading the efforts to become unionized.
"Black and Latinx borrowers [are] more likely to be denied credit than white borrowers and more likely to be charged higher interest rates [...]. [O]ne of many ways the financial deck is stacked against Black and brown consumers.”
Policymakers in Michigan have continuously made attending college harder through divestment in Michigan’s public higher education system, resulting in skyrocketing college prices.
