This is very different than a CD, which comes from a bank with Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. protection up to $250,000. And it's different than a U.S. Treasury bond, backed entirely by the U.S. government.
Redistricting too often succumbs to gerrymandering. Instead of the people choosing their elected officials, the elected officials choose their constituents.
As currently drawn, five Massachusetts House districts would have too few residents to meet the Supreme Court's standard - if inmates are not counted as living there, according to Brenda Wright of Demos, a public interest group with a Boston office. She testified before the committee in Dorchester last month.
The mutual admiration between the two has been apparent for some time. Herbert has been a speaker at Demos and has also cited the think tank over his years as a New York Times columnist. He wrote in one that almost exclusively centered on Demos that the think tank has responded to right-wing zealotry with “admirable real-world scholarship, a highly respected fellows program to encourage new writers and thinkers and steadfast efforts to promote civic engagement. (It’s a big champion, among other things, of same-day voter registration.)”
At Demos national research and policy center, former New York Times columnist Bob Herbert will continue working on his new book, “Wounded Colossus,” while writing for Demos’ new blog Policyshop.net
Senior Policy Associate Javier Silva examines the new financial insecurities created as more Americans refinance their homes.
That's the short version of a new and disturbing study by Silva called "House of Cards: Refinancing the American Dream." It shows how millions of U.S. households are falling into a vicious cycle of tapping their credit cards and then refinancing their mortgages to extract needed cash from the equity in their homes.
Limitless greed, unrestrained corporate power and a ferocious addiction to foreign oil have led us to an era of perpetual war and economic decline.
So here we are pouring shiploads of cash into yet another war, this time in Libya, while simultaneously demolishing school budgets, closing libraries, laying off teachers and police officers, and generally letting the bottom fall out of the quality of life here at home.
Flaw-proof election machines. Easy-to-read ballots. Registration systems that catch double-voters or dead voters still on the rolls. For top state election officials meeting here, the pressure is on to make sure the election changes demanded after President Bush's disputed 2000 victory are in place by the Jan.
If you really want to improve the education of poor children, you have to get them away from learning environments that are smothered by poverty.
One of the most powerful tools for improving the educational achievement of poor black and Hispanic public school students is, regrettably, seldom even considered. It has become a political no-no.
7) Unions are one of the few institutional bulwarks against a corporate dictatorship over all of us: I mentioned their role in the ballot initiative and electoral process, but how are people organized in society? Into factories and electronics assembly shops and big-box stores. They wake up in the morning and - even with strong unions - much of their life is dominated by the company: what time to show up, what time to break (and do we get one?), how fast to work.
Experts debate if the housing market is an overinflated bubble, or a strong seller's market.
The forum was sponsored by Demos, a public advocacy group that among other issues concentrates on questions of economic opportunity.
Worst-case scenarios unfold more frequently than we’d like to believe, which leads to two major questions regarding nuclear power that Americans have an obligation to answer.
First, can a disaster comparable to the one in Japan happen here? The answer, of course, is yes — whether caused by an earthquake or some other event or series of events. Nature is unpredictable and human beings are fallible. It could happen.
According to the consumer advocacy group Demos, from 1992 to 2001, the youngest adults (18 to 24 years old) saw the sharpest rise in credit-card debt-104 percent-to an average of $2,985. The second-highest increase-55 percent-was among young adults (25 to 34 years old), who also had the second highest bankruptcy rate, just after those ages 35 to 44.
According to the educational lender Nellie Mae, incoming college freshmen will amass $1,500 in credit-card debt before the end of their first term.
Professional football has a big, big problem on its hands, and I'm not talking about the lockout that is jeopardizing the 2011 season.
Dave Duerson was once a world-class athlete, a perfect physical specimen whose pro football career included Super Bowl championships with the Chicago Bears and New York Giants. Friends and former teammates would tell you that he was also a bright guy — a graduate of Notre Dame with a degree in economics and, at least for awhile, a successful businessman.
Creative ideas regarding energy, education, jobs and so forth have trouble even getting a hearing.
The United States is not racked with the turmoil that is shaking the Arab world, or the tragic devastation that has hit Japan. We are not in a state of emergency. We’re in a moment when it is possible to look thoughtfully at the American landscape and take rational steps to ensure a better, more sustainable future.
Rob Brunhild trusted his broker when he was sold principal-protected notes underwritten by Lehman Brothers, noting that the broker implied that the notes were like Treasuries. His expectations for a solid return were dashed when Lehman went under, wiping out his investment. He said his family lost $275,000 on the notes.
“I had to tell my mother,” Brunhild said. “Mom lived off of this money.”
To focus an investigative spotlight on an entire religious or ethnic community is a violation of everything America is supposed to stand for.
It has often been the case in America that specific religions, races and ethnic groups have been singled out for discrimination, demonization, incarceration and worse. But there have always been people willing to stand up boldly and courageously against such injustice. Their efforts are needed again now.