This report was completed in collaboration with the Advancement Project, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Congress of American Indians, National Urban League, Race Forward, and UnidosUS. These groups are a collaborative of leading national racial-equity organizations supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
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.
If nearly 70 percent of graduates are borrowing, 30 percent (including 35 percent of public college graduates) are not. Who are these students? What type of family or financial resources do they have at their disposal? What are their work habits? In short, what does it take to graduate debt-free these days? This brief answers these questions.
Signed into law on May 22, 2009, the Credit CARD Act has benefited millions of households in ways that directly affect their monthly budgets. Demos’ 2012 National Survey on Credit Card Debt of Low- and Middle-Income Households finds that the Credit CARD Act empowers Americans to take control of their finances by increasing the transparency of credit card statements and dramatically reducing unfair and excessive fees and
penalties.1 New estimates show that the CARD Act has saved U.S. consumers $50.4 billion, or $12.6 billion a year, in fees alone.
Discrimination has no place in New York. At our best, we’re a city where people of all races, ethnicities, creeds, and backgrounds have an opportunity to work hard and make their mark. But today in New York, many qualified job seekers are turned away from employment because of their personal credit history.
In today’s economy, a college education is essential for getting a good job and entering the middle class. Yet, despite this reality, college costs are rising beyond the reach of many
Wisconsinites, and student loan debt has become a clear and present danger to both the Wisconsin and American economies.
New York, NY – Steve Carbo, Senior Program Director of the Democracy Program, issued the following statement praising the recent passage of California Senate Bill 641.
In August 2011, Congress passed a strange piece of legislation intended to bind itself into the future. In spite of persistently high unemployment and an unremarkable deficit-to-GDP ratio, and in spite of public polling that consistently showed that creating jobs was the American public’s top priority, politicians inside the infamous Washington “Beltway” had spent months locked in a debate over ways to cut deficits and balance the federal budget—policies that would not create jobs and by some estimates would put millions out of work.
Connecticut has offered a voluntary public financing system for state-wide constitutional and General Assembly offices since 2008. Through financing from the Citizens' Election Fund, candidates that obtain the required number of small donations can receive a lump sum to fund their campaign. The program is very popular and in 2012, 77 percent of successful candidates were publicly financed.
