When Woody Harrelson's character got hired as a bartender on Cheers, he was so excited, he insisted on working for no more than the minimum wage. "I'd work like a slave," he said, "and, of course, I'd wash your car."
Most bar and restaurant workers would prefer to bring home a little more cash. They may be in luck.
Democrats are planning a yearlong campaign against economic inequality as the midterm elections approach, and President Obama will kick it off in earnest Wednesday when he signs an executive order raising the contracting standards for workers on federal contracts.
In the last year or two, something remarkable has happened in American politics. After decades in which future deficits, mostly caused by health care costs and conservative tax cuts, were invoked by those seeking to slash Social Security benefits for reasons of ideology or pecuniary interest, the national conversation has changed.
Today, President Barack Obama honored his promise from last month’s State of the Union address to raise the minimum wage for some workers indirectly employed by the federal government. In a new executive order, he raised the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour, effective Jan. 1, 2015. The White House estimates the order will affect hundreds of thousands of workers employed by private companies with government contracts. [...]
For hundreds of thousands of low-paid employees of federal contractors, the executive order President Obama announced in his State of the Union address will make a important difference in their incomes and lives.
After years of freelancing, a journalist friend of mine recently landed a great reporting job that comes with a nice salary and benefits. Another friend's book broke out in a big way, such that she can now command five-figure speaking fees. Still another friend, an academic, has turned into a star dean at a major university -- with various perks.
NEW YORK—Today, Demos released the following statement applauding Attorney General Eric Holder’s support for restoring the voting rights of people with past felony convictions. Holder spoke at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., saying “It is time to fundamentally reconsider laws that permanently disenfranchise people who are no longer under federal or state supervision.”
Demos’ Vice President of Legal Strategies, Brenda Wright, said this of the news:
When Louisiana lawmakers convened in 1898 to update the state constitution, one of the major complaints among them was that the recently ratified 15th Amendment prevented them from disenfranchising black people as they desired. The president of that convention, E.B. Kruttschnitt, proclaimed that a white majority would eventually overcome the 15th amendment’s voting rights mandate. Said Kruttschnitt:
The smart money is betting that tax reform won't happen this year, or anytime soon. Not with an election just 10 months away, and an even bigger one following close on its heels.
That's too bad, because tax reform is one of the few issues where you could actually imagine a really interesting and useful bipartisan debate. What's more, there would be plenty of upsides to such a debate for progressives.
If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, perhaps the same could be said about many of today’s 401K plans. Employers craft benefit packages with the best of intentions, yet, there’s a good chance you may be administering or participating in a retirement plan not in compliance with new Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) regulations. Last year nearly 75% of plans audited by the Department of Labor (DOL) were either fined, received penalties or had to make reimbursements fo
Twitter's stock fell sharply this week as evidence mounted that growth of new users was hitting a plateau and earnings were likely to stagnate as a result. Next up will be a scramble to pump up Twitter's earnings over the next few quarters, with the company already vowing to make the site easier for new users to navigate. If that doesn't work, expect other steps -- like layoffs and new aggressive efforts to monetize Twitter through more sponsored tweets or whatnot.
Georgia Republicans are pushing a bill that would dramatically shorten early voting for city elections. The effort is the latest to take advantage of the Supreme Court’s ruling last year on the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which made it easier for certain areas to change election rules in ways that hurt racial minorities.
What's the biggest change afoot in education today: The rise of online courses? The charter school movement? The Common Core? Or how about this one: The fall of the anachronistic, industrial-era idea that only a K-12 education should be freely provided by government.
As the White House prepares to launch a major economic opportunity effort, record high unemployment among black and Latino youth underscores how essential it is to create job opportunities for young people of color.
The critical issue here is that the ages of 16 to 24 are make or break years for lifelong earning potential. With one out four blacks and 1 out of 6 Latinos under the age of 25 without work, a generation of youth of color risks falling behind.
The Government By the People Act increases the power of the small contributions that ordinary citizens can afford to give, providing incentives for congressional candidates to reach out to average constituents, not just dial for dollars from wealthy donors.
Good morning, my name is Catherine Ruetschlin and I am a policy analyst at Demos, a non-partisan public policy organization working for an America where we all have an equal say in our democracy and an equal chance in our economy. Access to an affordable higher education is central to the work of Demos because, despite its growing expense, a college degree remains a young person’s best bet for raising her standard of living and securing a place in the middle class.
The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) includes 26 indicators to give a broader picture of the sustainability of growth. It is a better measure than GDP.
You've probably heard it said a gazillion times that nearly all Americans think of themselves as middle class, even if they are dirt poor or filthy rich. This everyman mindset is supposedly a big reason that class consciousness has always been so low in the United States.
WASHINGTON DC — Today, Demos applauded Leader Pelosi and Representative Sarbanes for co-sponsoring H.R. 20, The Government by the People Act, new legislation aimed at raising the voices of all Americans in the political process and allowing congressional candidates to run competitive campaigns by relying on small dollar contributions.
“Everyone should have an equal say in our democracy through the principle of one person, one vote—not one dollar, one vote,” said Heather McGhee, incoming President of Demos.
