Although Americans of all ages have endured the economic and social changes of the post-industrial era, today's young people are the first to experience its full weight as they try to start their adult lives. But the challenges facing young adults also reflect the failure of public policy to address

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 United States faces major challenges in sustaining a strong middle class in the decades ahead. Rapidly changing, often volatile economic conditions are making it more difficult to enter the middle class -- and stay there. Even as the bar to a middle class life is raised higher, economic

 

In response to ever-increasing financial pressures, families have come to depend on high-cost credit as a way to bridge the gap between stagnant or decreasing incomes and rising costs. How are families coping with their new burden? To hang on to the American Dream, to be part of the ownership

Testimony presented by Tamara Draut, Director of Demos' Economic Opportunity Program, before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit regarding consumer issues in credit card lending.

This report takes a long-term view to expanding the middle class and creating more security among those who do achieve a middle-class life. Looking ahead to where the United States should aspire to be a decade from now, the report advances policy proposals that would be phased in over time and are

Many citizens are anxious not just about the security of their jobs and adequacy of their incomes, but also about related issues: high levels of credit card debt, healthcare and childcare costs, and the affordability of homes and college tuition. These day-to-day worries are increasingly accompanied

There has been a fundamental shift in our nation's priorities for ensuring access to higher education. In the 1970s and 1980s, most aid was awarded in grants, while loans remained relatively low. Over the last two decades, federal aid has shifted away from grants to loans, pricing out students from

The federal government helps Americans build personal wealth in a variety of ways, most notably with tax breaks related to homeownership and retirement savings. However, most of this assistance goes to people who are already doing well. In 2003, the federal government spent $110.5 billion in