Private credit reporting is failing for all of us who must rely on credit reports produced by for-profit companies to navigate financial transactions. For communities of color, credit scores evoke the decades of bank redlining and unequal access to credit whose impact persists to this day.
Washington — SenatorAl Franken (D-MN) has introduced a financial-reform amendment that finally addresses the root problem of the credit rating agencies—their built-in conflict of interest. The "Restore Integrity to Credit Ratings" amendment, co-sponsored by Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Bill Nelson (D-FL), substantially embraces a remedy set forth in a recent Demos policy paper on this subject.
Demos’ Race-Class Narrative (RCN) project developed an empirically-tested narrative on race and class that resonates with all working people and offers an alternative to—and neutralizes the use of—dog-whistle racism.
Baltimore’s campaign donors lack diversity across race, gender, and socioeconomic status. The Baltimore Fair Election Fund, designed with equity and community engagement at the forefront, can change that.
Part of a Demos series of reports on deregulation showing that often the most significant impact is on the quality and reliability of work — in this case, on port trucking.
How the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Actwill bring greater security to American consumers, investors and Main Street businesses.
New York – Today, Demos, a national public policy research and advocacy center that supports fair employment practices, congratulates the Connecticut General Assembly for passing legislation that prohibits employers from using credit reports in employment decisions except in certain circumstances. Demos commends Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, House Speaker Christopher Donovan and Representative Matthew Lesser for their leadership on this issue. Connecticut is sixth in a growing number of states to ban employment credit checks.
For decades, GDP has enjoyed supreme status as the predominant benchmark of our economic and social progress. In reality, GDP obscures or ignores essential aspects of Americans’ economic and social welfare, as well as important social and environmental dimensions of our national welfare and future well-being.
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.
Demos conducted a nationwide survey of low- and middle-income households in early 2012. The findings in this brief summarize the relationship between college costs and credit card debt, and its impact on students and their parents.
How taxpayers are bankrolling the paychecks of already-wealthy executives instead of supporting more livable wages for American workers struggling to get by.
If the twin threats to public pensions continue, African American retirees may lose much of the retirement security they’ve gained over the past half-century.
A picture of the current state of the private retirement system, why this picture bodes ill for the future of retirement in the country, and why that system needs reform.
NEW: SECOND EDITION. "Retiring in the Red" is part of the Borrowing to Make Ends Meet Briefing Paper Series. Reports an 89% average increase in credit card debt among America's seniors from 1992 to 2001. Key Findings:
New York, NY – 'Shadow Market' investment products have come under scrutiny following the banking meltdown, but they continue to be aggressively marketed to clients who can least afford the potentially catastrophic losses. Millions of American seniors could see their golden years turn bleak if the poorly regulated derivatives underpinning their investment plans implode, according to "How Safe Are Your Savings? How Complex Derivative Products Imperil Seniors' Retirement Security."
