Miami-Dade County in Florida has had its fair share of high-profile voter suppression issues. Whether it be long lines, canceling of Souls to the Polls Sundays, or voter registration restrictions, many of the issues have directly impacted the black community. However, there is a significant and structural impediment to black political participation that is rarely examined. Political donations have a large amount of influence over the political process, and the county’s vibrant diversity isn’t represented in the county’s donor class.
Five years after the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. FEC decision, what are the roles of large donors and average voters in selecting and supporting candidates for Congress?
The opportunity to work hard and get ahead is a core value of American society. Yet today in the United States, qualified job seekers are turned away from employment because of their personal credit history. People whose credit is damaged as a result of medical debt, student loans, a layoff, divorce, predatory lending, identity theft, or simple error are shut out of jobs—despite a lack of evidence connecting someone’s credit history with their job performance.
Empirical data showing policymakers, organizers, and progressives that there is clear public support for the notion that racism is a divide-and-conquer tactic creating distrust, undermining belief in government, and causing economic pain for everyone, of every color.
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.
Methodology: Demos sponsored an online survey among 1,536 registered voters, conducted June 5 to June 14, 2017. The research included a base sample of registered voters and, for deeper analysis, oversamples of working-class African Americans, working-class Hispanics, working-class white Obama-to-Trump voters, and progressives, defined as people of all races who identify as extremely or somewhat liberal. The data in this survey is weighted by standard weights to make it fully representative.
Over the past 15 years, states have made deep cuts to their funding for higher education, causing tuition to rise rapidly, and household incomes have failed to keep up. As a result, student debt has skyrocketed, quintupling from just $240 billion in 2003 to more than $1.3 trillion today. The burdens of this debt-based higher education system are being disproportionately borne by those with the highest hurdles to obtain higher educations: students of color and low-income students.
Residents Who Attempted to Register to Vote or Update their Registration Information at the Division of Motor Vehicles Since the Summer of 2015 Will be Able to Vote in this November’s General Election
Background
What is the fiduciary rule?
In the simplest terms, the fiduciary rule is a new regulation, proposed by the Department of Labor, which requires financial advisors and brokers to act in the best interest of people saving for retirement. Under this rule, when consulting your financial advisor they will be required to recommend the best investments for your needs, i.e. the mix of investments with the highest returns, lowest fees, or least risk.
Don’t financial advisors currently have to look out for my best interest?
Rolling back reform of the financial system is at the top of the agenda for the new Congress. Opponents of a safe and honest financial system have waited until the abject horror of autumn 2008 faded from memory to deal the financial sector regulation a death of a thousand cuts. From time to time, the new Congress may attempt large rollbacks. But their likely strategy is that, after a couple of years of piecemeal repeal, financial regulation will be gutted and the good old days of financial markets that operated like casinos will return.
In April 2015, Walmart implemented a $9 an hour minimum wage for all of its 1.3 million U.S. workers, and committed to pay all current workers at least $10 per hour by February 2016.1 This is an important step from the country’s largest employer and in particular for the retail industry, where low-wage, unstable employment is the norm.
States should modernize registration procedures by allowing eligible voters to register to vote and update their registrations online.
Online registration saves states and localities money.
Registration rates among young voters increase with online registration.
These days, bank transfers, credit card transactions, and even medical record storage all happen online. These transactions are not only complicated but also highly sensitive, yet technology has managed to evolve to ensure the transactions are safe and secure, as well as convenient.
