Miles Rapoport testifies on March 23, 2007, at the United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services' hearing on "The Role of Public Investment in Promoting Economic Growth".
Ms. Draut, director of the Economic Opportunity Program at Demos, a public policy group in New York, got to the heart of the matter in her recent testimony before a U.S. Senate committee looking into higher education costs.
Des Moines, IA — Voter participation in Iowa will significantly increase if the state passes Election Day Registration (EDR) into law, according to a new report published today by national election reform research and policy group Demos and released in collaboration with the Iowa Citizen Action Network (ICAN). The Iowa House this week passed an EDR bill (HF653) and the state Senate is expected to take up the bill on Monday, March 26.
New York, NY — Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action is pleased to announce that Professor Benjamin R. Barber, renowned political theorist and expert on global democracy and citizenship, has joined Demos as a Distinguished Senior Fellow.
Demos Vice President of Policy and Programs Tamara Draut testifies before the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pension regarding higher education costs and student debt.
New York, NY — More than three-quarters of a million Americans were able to cast their ballot in November 2006 because of Election Day Registration (EDR), according to a new report published this week by Demos.
Basic demographic data reveal much about the need for better access to the voting process.
Studies have shown that 20% of the population of the U.S. has one or more disabilities and that approximately 10% of that number live with severe disabilities and that about 20% of U.S. adults with disabilities — more than 8 million potential voters — say they have been unable to vote in presidential or congressional elections due to barriers at or getting to the polls.
Washington, DC — Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines, once considered essential to ensuring private and independent voting booth access for voters with disabilities, often do not work as promised, according to a new report published today.
Cindy Zeldin works for Demos, a nonprofit research and advocacy group. She says even the insured are not immune from this growing trend.
"The direction of health insurance is towards greater individual risk, greater out-of-pocket expenses and those expenses are going right on to credit cards," she says.
Demos Vice President of Policy and Programs Tamara Draut testifies before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs regarding the growth of credit card debt and credit industry practices.
The report, released last week, was jointly compiled by Demos, a public policy group in New York, and the Access Project, which is affiliated with a health policy institute at Brandeis University and is trying to broaden the availability of health care in the U.S.
According to the report, called "Borrowing to Stay Healthy," about 29 percent of low- and middle-income families with credit card debt reported using their credit cards to pay medical expenses - in most cases for major medical problems.
Overall, borrowers also need to be honest with themselves before tapping their home equity, especially if the reason for the cash-out isn't a one-time cost, said Jennifer Wheary, a senior fellow at Demos.
"In the short-term, they will feel a sense of relief," she said, referring to those who use the cash to catch up with such things as credit-card payments or medical expenses.
Health care costs are rising sharply, placing stress on employers, individuals, and families. As employers look to rein in benefit costs, they are increasingly turning towards health insurance options that feature greater employee cost sharing through higher deductibles, co-payments, and other forms of out-of-pocket expenses. Others are dropping coverage entirely. Financially stretched low- and middle-income families, however, can scarcely afford these higher medical expenses.
New York, NY — As health care costs continue to rise faster than incomes, families are turning to credit cards to pay for medical care, according to new research by Demos and the Access Project. The public policy groups published the findings today in a report entitled "Borrowing to Stay Healthy: How Credit Card Debt Is Related to Medical Expenses."
New York, NY — Today's young adults are feeling the full, deep impact of a massive shift in the US economy, and are no longer able to start and sustain a family, build a career and grow assets in the same manner as the previous generation, according to a new report series published today by Demos, a national, nonpartisan public policy center.
Although Americans of all ages have endured the economic and social changes ushered in by a shift from an industrial to a technology- and service-based economy, today’s young adults are the first to experience its full weight as they try to start their lives. But the challenges facing young adults also reflect the failure of public policy to address the changing realities of starting, and building, a career and family in 21st century America.
Most parents with children under the age of 6 are in their late 20s or early 30s, making issues of family leave, child care, and work flexibility of core concern to young adults under the age of 34.
Young families across the income spectrum are financially and emotionally stressed by the demands of work and family, yet our nation has failed to address these issues in any systematic or holistic fashion.
Over the past decade, rents and home prices in major cities across the country have escalated rapidly. As young adults transition from college into the workforce, already owing an average of $20,000 in student loan debt, securing affordable housing in the current market can pose an overwhelming challenge.