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Walmart's raises to $9 an hour in 2015 and then to $10 an hour in 2016 is a positive step forward, but it still falls short of giving workers the wages they need.

Advocates and policymakers are frequently asked how they plan to pay for progressive policy investments. This memo provides guidance on how to respond.

Background on one of the landmark pieces of financial reform legislation associated with Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.

The Financial Infrastructure Exchange (FIX) is a federal tax-and-subsidy program to promote long-term investment in a financial system that otherwise prioritizes short-term gains. 

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

This Explainer explores how the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is used in measuring our economic growth and whether alternative measures are also needed to provide a more comprehensive outlook of economic progress.  

The Volcker Rule is a requirement in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 that is sometimes referred to as a “mini-Glass-Steagall.” 

The working class today is much more complex and diverse than the white, male, manufacturing archetype often evoked in popular narratives.

Both economic and racial justice are core progressive priorities, but too often we discuss them separately. On the contrary, racial and economic harms are intertwined, as are our desired solutions to them. Wealthy elites exploit racial fears to turn working people against each other and government; economic pain increases racial resentment and facilitates scapegoating, fueling support for punitive measures against people of color.

While GDP has been steadily increasing, indicating a growing economy, other metrics of progress show a very different picture.

How and why two types of theft—wage theft and shoplifting—are treated so differently.

The causes of Detroit's bankruptcy and what the city's emergency manager can do to turn it around.

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

25 Federal Policies to Lift Up Working People

A Hawaii Partnership Bank will generate new revenue for Hawaii, save local governments money, and make us less dependent on big offshore banks that are dramatically reshaping life for families and businesses in Hawaii.

SUMMARY

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 Act will bring greater security to American consumers, investors and Main Street businesses.

Now is the time for citizens, workers, employers, and policymakers to come together once again to rebuild pathways to the middle class, create good jobs with fair pay and decent benefits, and ensure that prosperity is broadly shared for the next generation.

Millions are working hard to move forward, or just to make ends meet, and getting nowhere. This policy agenda can change that reality.