In April 2005 Demos urged Congress to recognize the fragility of our debt driven consumer economy when considering the bankruptcy "reform" bill (S. 256/H.R. 685) that had been passed by the Senate and was under consideration in the House of Representatives. American families are not suffering from

Many Americans have reduced the equity in their home to pay off credit card debts and cover day-to-day expenses. More troubling still is evidence that many appraisers fraudulently inflate property values during the buying or refinancing of homes. This paper explores the implications of appraisal

Passage of the bankruptcy bill would make it harder for families struck by financial misfortune to get back on track. It would benefit the very profitable ($30 billion in 2004) credit card industry at the expense of the modest-income families who represent the great majority of those who declare

Associate Director of the Democracy Program Ludovic Blain testifies before the Vermont Senate Government Operations Committee regarding Election Day Registration.

In this preliminary analysis, Demos finds that the right to provisional ballots was violated across the country on November 2, 2004. While all the data on provisional balloting have yet to be collected and assessed, available evidence suggests that Congress and the states must revisit provisional

 

Miles Rapoport testifies before the Oregon State Legislature on the merits of fusion balloting.

Testimony of Miles Rapoport in support of Election Day Registration.

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

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