Publications
Reports
- July 22, 2010
- Fulfilling the Promise
- Expanding Voter Registration of Low-Income Citizens Under the National Voter Registration Act
- By Scott Novakowski
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Work by Demos and its partners suggests that millions of low-income Americans can be brought into the political process through proper implementation of an often-neglected provision of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) that requires states to provide voter registration services to applicants and recipients of public assistance benefits. And the time is ripe to ensure that voter registration is provided at public assistance offices: Many public assistance programs are experiencing significant growth, with participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ("SNAP", formerly Food Stamps), one of the largest programs, now at an all-time high, having increased dramatically over the past year.
As the full effect of the economic downturn is felt throughout the country and increasing numbers of individuals turn to public assistance, the NVRA has never been more important for ensuring that low-income citizens have a voice in the democratic process.
- Tags: National Voter Registration Act | Voter Registration
- July 22, 2010
- Expanding Voter Registration for Low Income Ohioans
- The Impact of the National Voter Registration Act
- By Lisa J. Danetz
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Significantly, millions of low-income citizens could be brought into the political process each year by proper implementation of an often-neglected provision of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which requires states to provide voter registration services to low-income persons through public assistance offices. Ohio's experience-the subject of this report-provides a case in point, and offers valuable lessons both for advocates and for state officials seeking to encourage voter registration and achieve the full promise of the NVRA.
- Tags: National Voter Registration Act | Voter Registration
- June 29, 2010
- A Citizen From Day One
- A Proposal to Provide Voter Registration Services at Naturalization Ceremonies
- By Tova Andrea Wang
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
It may be a cliche that we are a nation of immigrants, but statistics show that it is as true today as in any other period in our history. And while Americans may debate the best way to bring noncitizens into the civic life of our communities, there is widespread, strong agreement that when someone from another country takes the affirmative step to take the oath of loyalty and become a citizen of this country, he should be welcomed and encouraged to be a part of our country and our social
and political life.- Tags: Election Administration | National Voter Registration Act | Voter Registration
- June 22, 2010
- Emission Reduction Incentives
- A Proposal to Use Tariff Cuts to Assist Climate Change Mitigation by Developing Countries
- By David Callahan Cristina Vasile
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Wealthy nations, led by the United States, should move to reduce or eliminate all tariffs on
imports from developing countries as one way to help offset the extraordinary costs these
countries face in confronting climate change. If U.S. tariff policy continues on the current
trajectory, the U.S. is likely to collect about $90 billion in import duties on products from
developing countries, excluding China, by 2020.1 The combined total collected by the European
Union, Japan, and other wealthy countries may exceed that amount. These projected duties
constitute a vast pool of funds that can and should be tapped to help mobilize a decisive global
response to climate change.- Tags: International Environmental Policy
- June 22, 2010
- Environmental country reports
- A Proposal for U.S. Global Environmental Monitoring [Working Paper]
- By David Callahan
- & Chris DeVito
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
The United States should monitor the environmental records of countries worldwide and produce annual reports on each country. Such reports would be highly valuable to U.S. policymakers, but also to advocates, journalists, and ordinary citizens.
- Tags: International Environmental Policy
- May 6, 2010
- Severe Financial Insecurity Among African-American and Latino Seniors
- Over nine out of 10 senior households of color do not have sufficient economic security to sustain themselves through their projected lives.
- By Jennifer Wheary
- & Tatjana Meschede, Thomas M. Shapiro, Laura Sullivan
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Building on Living Longer on Less, the first report in a series examining the financial vulnerability of the elderly, this report examines the economic security of African-American and Latino senior households.
- Tags: Middle Class | Retirement Security
- April 26, 2010
- Building Ohio's Future Middle Class
- Addressing the Challenges Facing Young Adults
- By Nancy K. Cauthen Viany Orozco
- & Amy Hanauer
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Today's young adults are coming of age in a tough economy, on the heels of 30 years of declining economic opportunity and security for all but the most affluent and most highly educated. These changes are quite evident in Ohio, where the once-mighty manufacturing sector that provided better-than-average jobs in the 1960s and 1970s has eroded, hitting young adults particularly hard. Although many of the levers of opportunity that once fueled and defined America's middle class have weakened or broken, a reorientation could restore opportunity and provide today's young adults with a more secure economic future.
This report provides a comprehensive portrait of today's young adults in Ohio and, where possible, compares their economic status to that of the previous generation. The term "young adults" in the report generally refers to 18- to 34-year-olds. The report is organized into four key areas: post- secondary education, employment and earnings, debt and assets and raising a family. It concludes with a set of policy recommendations that would help rebuild and restore the middle class.
- Tags: Economic Challenges of Young People | Middle Class
- March 31, 2010
- Increasing Access in Hard Times
- Women and the National Voter Registration Act
- By Youjin B. Kim Scott Novakowski
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
The realities of women's economic status, exacerbated by the economic downturn make it especially important for low-income women to be able to exercise their full political clout. Yet, for a variety of reasons, their rates of voter registration-a threshold requirement in most states for the most fundamental means of political participation, voting-remain low: In 2008, almost one-third of low-income women were not registered to vote.
- Tags: Election Administration | National Voter Registration Act | Voter Registration | Women's Leadership Initiative
- February 25, 2010
- Same Day Voter Registration in Maryland
- Under the system proposed in Maryland, overall turnout could go up by 4.3%.
- By R. Michael Alvarez, Jonathan Nagler
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Authors R. Michael Alvarez (California Institute of Technology) and Jonathan Nagler (New York University) have analyzed the likely impact on voter turnout should Maryland adopt Same Day Registration (SDR). Under the system proposed in Maryland, eligible voters who miss the current 21-day deadline for registering may be able to register to vote during the state's 7-day early voting period, or on Election Day. Consistent with existing research on the impact of SDR in the other states that use this process, the authors find that SDR would likely lead to substantial increases in voter turnout.
- Tags: Same Day Registration/Election Day Registration | Voter Registration
- February 5, 2010
- Public Assistance Databases and Automatic Voter Registration
- Much of the information necessary for a voter to become registered, contained within databases maintained by public assistance agencies, provides a solid foundation for implementing an automatic voter registration system.
- By Steven Carbo Scott Novakowski
- & David Myers, Youjin B. Kim
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
In response to calls for voter registration modernization, proposals have been advanced to use client and applicant lists from government agencies to automatically register eligible citizens to vote. A central goal of any automatic voter registration proposal should be a representative electorate in which all eligible citizens, including those from historically underrepresented communities, are effectively registered and able to cast a ballot on Election Day. State databases of individuals receiving public assistance benefits--including SNAP (formerly Food Stamps), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Medicaid--can be an important source for registering low-income citizens--one of the most under-registered segments of the population.
To better understand the nature of public assistance agencies' computerized eligibility databases and their ability to facilitate automatic voter registration, Demos conducted telephone interviews with public assistance agencies in 41 out of 51 states (including the District of Columbia).
- Tags: Modernizing Voter Registration | Voter Registration
- February 4, 2010
- Graduated Success
- Sustainable Economic Opportunity Through One- and Two-Year Credentials
- By Jennifer Wheary Viany Orozco
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Advocates, educators and students often make the assumption that more education is always better, that a bachelors or graduate degree is always superior in terms of providing additional economic opportunity. As the following report show, this is not always the case.
- Tags: Student Loans and Student Loan Debt | Economic Challenges of Young People
- February 3, 2010
- Voters Win with Same Day Registration
- States with SDR have historically boasted turnout rates 10 to 12 percentage points higher than states that do not offer Same Day Registration.
- By Steven Carbo Regina M. Eaton
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
"Same Day Registration" (SDR) allows eligible voters to register and cast a ballot after the close of the official voter registration, in the run-up to each election. "Election Day Registration" (EDR) is a variety of Same Day Registration that allows for registration and voting on Election Day itself.
- Tags: Same Day Registration/Election Day Registration | Voter Registration
- January 28, 2010
- Bigger Banks, Riskier Banks
- After trillions of dollars in taxpayer funds, cheap loans and other forms of support, the biggest banks are bigger and more complex than ever.
- By James Lardner Nomi Prins
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
The crisis was widely blamed on the eager promotion by the nation's biggest banks of overcomplicated, deceptively advertised loans and securities. Experts and political leaders of both parties deplored the ability of profit-seeking insiders at a handful of "Too Big to Fail" institutions to bring the financial system to the edge of collapse, necessitating a massive bailout and triggering the worst recession since the 1930s.
Nevertheless, after trillions of dollars in taxpayer funds, cheap loans and other forms of direct and indirect support, the biggest banks are bigger and more complex than ever; and for all the talk of newfound caution and tougher regulation, their recent record reveals an undiminished commitment to the kind of risky practices that inflate short-term profits when they go right but hold the potential to decimate the economy when they go wrong.
- Tags: Business & Industry | Lending Industry | Market Economy | Financial Reform | Wall Street
- January 27, 2010
- Election Day Voter Registration in New Mexico
- Should New Mexico adopt Same Day Registration, overall turnout could increase by more than four percent.
- By R. Michael Alvarez, Jonathan Nagler
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Report authors R. Michael Alvarez and Jonathan Nagler have analyzed the likely impact on voter turnout should New Mexico adopt Same Day Registration (SDR). Under the system proposed in New Mexico, eligible voters who miss the current 28-day deadline for registering by mail may be able to register to vote during the state's early voting period. The availability of Same Day Registration procedures should give voters who have not previously registered the opportunity to vote.
- Tags: Same Day Registration/Election Day Registration | Voter Registration
- January 22, 2010
- Broken Buffer
- How Trade Adjustment Assistance Fails American Workers
- By Ramya M. Vijaya
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
The following report evaluates the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)--the primary U.S. policy response to the job dislocations caused by trade. It shows the ways in which TAA has failed to respond adequately to the challenges facing dislocated workers. It highlights the need for a more comprehensive set of policies to help workers and families navigate the economic restructuring that has become an inevitable part of increasing trade and globalization.
- Tags: Trade, Workers, and Geo-economics
- December 11, 2009
- Leveraging the Idea of Public Structures as Foundations of the Economy
- By Topos Partnership
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
"Public structures" has proven to be an effective organizing idea for more constructive conversations about the role of government in American life. The concept was first developed by the principals of the Topos Partnership in research they conducted for Public Works in 2005, and since then, it has been field-tested by Public Works with advocates, elected officials, public sector managers, and public policy organizations around the country.
As part of a new round of research commissioned by Public Works to create more productive public dialog about public policy and economic outcomes, Topos has returned to the field to test the more specific idea that public structures are crucial foundations of the economy.- Tags: Role of Government and the Public Sector | Role of Government in the Economy
- December 11, 2009
- Paving the Way
- Government's Role in Economic Innovation
- By Topos Partnership
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Paving the Way is part of a larger effort undertaken by the Topos Partnership and Public Works to create more constructive public dialog about public policy and economic outcomes. Promoting Broad Prosperity contains the complete findings and recommendations from this body of research.
- Tags: Role of Government and the Public Sector | Role of Government in the Economy
- November 17, 2009
- Environmental Standards and the GSP
- A Proposal
- By David Callahan Cristina Vasile
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
The United States has long granted trade preferences to developing countries that meet various criteria. These criteria, which are stipulated by the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), have changed with time--reflecting U.S. economic and foreign policy priorities.
While the criteria include non-support for terrorism, enforcement of intellectual property rights, and respect for internationally recognized worker rights, the GSP does not include an environmental provision.
With the current U.S. GSP program set to expire at the end of December, the following proposal lays out a policy framework for the ratification and implementation of environmental standards into U.S. trade agreements.
- Tags: Trade | International Environmental Policy
- November 1, 2009
- Rethinking the Economy
- By Topos
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
From 2007 through 2009, Topos, at the request of Public Works, undertook an extensive investigation of Americans' understandings of the economy, and identified a series of communications strategies to engage the public in a conversation about the ways in which government can and does shape the economy. This effort has included a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research that spanned a period of dramatic change in the economic landscape.
The project was designed to address a concern among advocates that the public debate over economic policy is constrained by Americans' views and understandings of government's role.
- Tags: Market Economy | Role of Government and the Public Sector | Role of Government in the Economy
- October 29, 2009
- Government, The Economy and We, The People
- Creating Public Will to Shape an Economy that Works for All
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
We are living in a time of unprecedented public interest in the relationship between government and the economy. Americans are attentive--deeply concerned about the impact of the economic downturn and its implications for the future. But they are also wary. While they want government action, they are harshly critical of high profile steps such as bailouts, and nervous about spending and the deficit. Making real progress on a whole host of important economic policies, from reshaping Wall Street regulations to investing in the jobs and economy of the future, will require a more active role for government than the U.S. has seen in decades. Building and sustaining public will to support this engagement by the public sector is an underlying and foundational challenge.
This research summary offers an overview of insights and recommendations for creating a new public conversation about the role of government in the economy.
- Tags: Role of Government and the Public Sector | Role of Government in the Economy
- October 29, 2009
- Promoting Broad Prosperity
- A Topos Strategy and Research Brief
- By Axel Aubrun, Meg Bostrom, Joe Grady
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Since the Spring of 2007 and continuing into the Summer of 2009, Public Works: The Demos Center for the Public Sector and the Topos Partnership have collaborated on a Ford Foundation-funded effort to create a new public conversation on the role of government in the economy. This effort has included a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research efforts, spanned a period of dramatic change in the national economic landscape, and built on earlier research conducted by Topos principals concerning the public's view of government and public understandings of low wage work. The analysis that follows is a synthesis of the key findings and recommendations from a number of research reports by Topos.
- Tags: Role of Government and the Public Sector | Role of Government in the Economy
- October 26, 2009
- Is Everyone Else Doing It? Indiana's Voter Identification Law in International Perspective
- Harvard Law and Policy Review
- By Tova Andrea Wang
- & Frederic Charles Schaffer
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Since the passage of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) in 2002, requiring people to present identification to vote has become one of the most controversial and divisive issues in election reform. HAVA necessitates, among other things, that members of a small group of people--new voters registering by mail--establish their identity in one of many ways. While about half of the states in the country today apply just that requirement, many states have used the HAVA identification provision to justify additional, more stringent measures. At present, twenty-four states require all voters to present identification when casting a ballot in person.
- Tags: Voter Fraud, Voter ID and Election Integrity
- October 16, 2009
- Election Day Voter Registration in Nebraska
- By R. Michael Alvarez, Jonathan Nagler
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
R. Michael Alvarez of the California Institute of Technology and Jonathan Nagler of NYU analyze the likely impact of Election Day Registration on voter turnout in Nebraska.
- Tags: Same Day Registration/Election Day Registration | Voter Registration
- October 6, 2009
- Declining Public Assistance Voter Registration and Welfare Reform
- A Response
- By R. Michael Alvarez, Jonathan Nagler
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
In a recent report from the Heritage Center for Data Analysis (2008) titled Welfare Reform a Factor in Lower Voter Registration at Public Assistance Offices, authors Muhlhausen and Tyrrell argue that the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)--passed in 1996 as part of Clinton's Welfare overhaul-- is an important cause of the decline in the number of individuals who have registered to vote in public assistance agencies.
In this report, R. Michael Alvarez of California's Institute of Technology and Jonathan Nagler of NYU examine the statistical claims put forth by Muhlhausen and Tyrrell. Their research, Alvaraze and Nagler conclude, suffers from methodological flaws in that they make a key error of inference in overstating the certainty of their results. By artificially manipulating the number of observations included in their analysis, Muhlhausen and Tyrrell greatly overstate the precision of their estimates, thus allowing them to claim that their results reach traditional levels of statistical reliability when, in fact, they largely do not.
- Tags: National Voter Registration Act | Voter Registration
- October 5, 2009
- Working Together to Strenghten Our Nation's Democracy
- Ten Recommendations
- By Brenda Wright
- & Archon Fung, Joe Goldman, Martha McCoy
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
What follows is a comprehensive set of commitments and recommendations designed to strengthen our democracy by engaging all citizens in the selection of their leaders, influencing laws and regulations, and taking public action.
At this unique timen in our ation's history, when we are faced with tremendous challenges on every front, experts
and advocates for strengthening democracy came together to create new momentum and plans for the critical
work that must be done. On August 2-4, 2009, they shared what they have been learning from their work across
the country, and rolled up their sleeves to create collective recommendations and action steps.- Tags: Election Administration | Expanding Civic Engagement | National Voter Registration Act | Voter Registration
- September 29, 2009
- Work Less, Study More & Succeed
- How Financial Supports Can Improve Postsecondary Success
- By Nancy K. Cauthen Viany Orozco
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Even though more of today's young adults are motivated to seek a postsecondary education, too many of them are sidelined by the financial burden of paying for school while meeting their other financial obligations. This report argues that to increase postsecondary success among low- to moderate-income students, we must reform financial aid and provide additional financial supports to help students cover the cost of living expenses (especially housing and transportation) so that young students can work less, study more, and finish their degrees.
- Tags: Debt | Economic Challenges of Young People | Middle Class | Student Loans and Student Loan Debt
- September 11, 2009
- The Smart Globalist's Agenda
- A Plan for Responsible U.S. Economic Engagement in the World
- By Clyde Prestowitz
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Since the end of World War II, American leaders have promoted globalization as a force that would automatically raise U.S. and global living standards while also spreading democracy and establishing international peace. Indeed, globalization was seen as largely synonymous with Americanization and became a major element of America's geo-political strategy.
At the present moment, however, just the opposite of all this appears to be the actual case. While globalization has helped tens of millions of people climb out of poverty in countries like India and China, other countries like Mexico have experienced decelerating growth under conditions of greater globalization, and most countries--including the United States--have experienced a growing divide between the few rich who have made great gains in recent years and the vast majority whose incomes have stagnated or fallen.
As this report argues, there are only two ways to temper global capitalism. Either nation states reassert more sovereignty to prevent abuses. Or the regulatory enterprise becomes global. Reform will entail some of each approach.
- Tags: Trade, Workers, and Geo-economics | Interdependence and Global Governance | Market Economy | Trade
- July 28, 2009
- The Plastic Safety Net
- How Households are Coping in a Fragile Economy
- By Tamara Draut Jose Garcia
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
While the economic recession continues to threaten the financial security of low- and middle-income households, its effects have been heightened by the reality that, even before the downturn, millions of households were experiencing difficulties meeting the most basic expenses. Now, as families experience declining home values and tightened credit markets, many are falling behind on their mortgage and credit card payments.
The following report shows how skyrocketing costs, dwindling savings, stagnant wages and medical debt have forced low and middle-income families to turn to plastic as the de-facto safety net.
The report is based on a survey conducted between April and August 2008-consisted of 1,205 phone interviews with low- and middle-income households whose incomes fell between 50 percent and 120 percent of local median income; such households comprise roughly half of all households in the country.
- Tags: Credit Card Debt | Debt
- July 21, 2009
- Port Trucking Down the Low Road
- A Sad Story of Deregulation
- By David Bensman
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
As industry after industry was deregulated in the late 1970s and 1980s, the promise was of more competition, more innovation and more consumer choice. But as the Demos series of reports on deregulation documents, often the most significant impact is on the quality and reliability of work. Often the cost savings are mainly in the form of reduced wages and employee benefits. And the innovations sometimes actually result in a less attractive or reliable product from the perspective of the consumer. The impact on the industry as a whole is characteristically greater instability. This is the case in industries as diverse as electricity, airlines, finance, and trucking.
Port trucking, the segment of the freight movement industry that carries 80 percent of shipping containers between ports and warehouses or distribution centers, is an essential cog in the global trade system, and as this report from David Bensman shows, suffers from excessive, destructive competition.
- Tags: Financial Reform
- July 17, 2009
- Hidden Casualties
- Trade, Employment Loss & Women Workers
- By David Callahan
- & Ramya M. Vijaya
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
This report presents new evidence of how trade-related job losses are impacting women workers. It shows how women workers are concentrated in industries which have been drastically affected by the surge in cheap imports over the past decade. The report also shows that current policy responses to dislocations faced by women workers are woefully insufficient, with many laid off women workers receiving little help in securing comparably paying jobs or handling family obligations as they participate in retraining and conduct employment searches.
The United States should continue to engage in an open global economy in the years ahead. But in light of the trends documented in this report, that engagement must be coupled with a much more comprehensive set of policies to help workers and families navigate the economic restructuring that has become an inevitable part of increasing trade and globalization.
- Tags: Trade, Workers, and Geo-economics | Trade
- July 17, 2009
- A Voice for Workers
- Expanding U.S. Capacity to Promote International Labor Standards and Enforce Trade Agreements
- By David Callahan Cristina Vasile
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Over the past eight years, even as the U.S. signed a number of new bilateral trade pacts, the U.S. government actually decreased its capacity for promoting strong labor standards and enforcing the labor provisions of trade agreements. The Bush Administration sought to slash funding for the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) at the U.S. Department of Labor and, though it wasn't entirely successful in this effort, it still managed to significantly downsize the agency.
The new administration and Congress should move quickly to revitalize ILAB as part of a major new effort to promote higher labor standards around the world and enforce worker rights provisions in existing trade agreements.
This brief provides background on labor standards and recent U.S. trade agreements, examines the new opportunities that exist to raise labor standards, looks at the historic role of ILAB, and offers recommendations for ensuring that the U.S. has the capacity to be a global leader in guaranteeing worker rights.
- Tags: Trade, Workers, and Geo-economics
- June 24, 2009
- Flying Blind
- Airline Deregulation Reconsidered
- By James Lardner Robert Kuttner
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
In this wideranging new Demos report on the airline industry, co-authors James Lardner and Robert Kuttner trace the industry's current troubles back to the decision, three decades ago, to lift most federal regulation of air travel. The authors point out the rise in regional carrier flight hours, the rise in outsourcing of heavy aircraft maintenance, service cutbacks and hidden charges, wage and benefit reductions, and "more consolidation in the hope of surviving long enough to be in a position to turn a profit and expand again during a future economic recovery."
- Tags: Financial Reform
- May 20, 2009
- The Downslide Before the Downturn
- Declining Economic Security Among Middle Class African Americans and Latinos, 2000-2006
- By Jennifer Wheary
- & Thomas M. Shapiro, Tatjana Meschede
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Today headlines are filled with stories of middle-class families struggling to survive the current downturn. But the problems of middle-class families did not start with the recession.
Between 2000 and 2006, the number of middle-class families that lacked economic security grew from 19 to 23 million. Decline in assets, the rising cost of housing, and more families lacking health insurance depleted middle-class economic resources, leaving millions of families poorly positioned to weather the current recession.
- Tags: Debt | Middle Class | Race & Debt
- May 19, 2009
- Voter Registration in Rural Public Assistance Offices
- Assessing Oregon's Compliance with the NVRA
- By Lisa J. Danetz
- & Michael Slater
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
When Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) in 1993, its goals were to "increase the number of eligible citizens who register to vote in elections for Federal office" and "protect the integrity of the electoral process." Yet, while most states created effective programs for mail-in and Department of Motor Vehicles-based registration processes, many neglected the NVRA's social service agency requirements (detailed in Section 7).
This report focuses attention on the state of Oregon, an early leader with respect to public assistance agency-based voter registration but whose policies and level of compliance have varied over the years.
- Tags: National Voter Registration Act | Voter Registration
- February 24, 2009
- The Contract for College
- A Policy Proposal to Increase College Access and Affordability
- By Caleb Gibson Viany Orozco
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Rising college costs, combined with major policy changes in financial aid, have made college less affordable for today’s generation of young people.
The Contract for College would unify the existing three strands of federal financial aid--grants, loans and work-study--into a coherent, guaranteed financial aid package for students.
- Tags: Student Loans and Student Loan Debt | Economic Challenges of Young People
- February 19, 2009
- Election Day Voter Registration in New Mexico
- By R. Michael Alvarez, Jonathan Nagler
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
R. Michael Alvarez of the California Institute of Technology and Jonathan Nagler of NYU analyze the likely impact of Election Day Registration on voter turnout in New Mexico.
- Tags: Same Day Registration/Election Day Registration | Voter Registration
- February 4, 2009
- Thinking Big
- Progressive Ideas for a New Era
- By James Lardner and Nathaniel Loewentheil (Editors)
- http://www.thinkingbigthebook.com/
Last year, the Progressive Ideas Network, an alliance of multi-issue think tanks and activist organizations, released a collection of essays by key progressive leaders to help shape the progressive agenda for 21st-century America. That collection has now been become a book published by Berrett Koehler, revised and expanded with new essays, including a new foreword by Demos Distinguished Senior Fellow Robert Kuttner.
- Tags: Distribution of Wealth & Income | Market Economy | Middle Class | Voter Registration
- January 28, 2009
- Living Longer on Less
- The New Economic (In)Security of Seniors
- By Jennifer Wheary
- & Thomas M. Shapiro, Tatjana Meschede
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
Economic security for seniors was built on the three-legged stool of retirement (Social Security, pensions, and savings) at the core of the social contract that rewards a lifetime of productivity. Economic security of seniors, however, is being challenged by two simultaneously occurring trends: a weakening of the three legs of retirement security income and dramatically increasing expenses, such as for healthcare and housing.
- Tags: Middle Class | Retirement Security
- January 8, 2009
- Financial Regulation After the Fall
- Senior Fellow Robert Kuttner provides an in-depth look at the causes and consequences nearly three decades of deregulation, pinpoints the challenges thay lay ahead, and lays out a regulatory framework for bringing us out of this economic mess.
- By Robert Kuttner
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
America’s financial system has undergone a severe shock that is still cascading throughout the real economy. As financial institutions, their investors and homeowners have lost several trillion dollars, the combination of a contraction in asset values, declining consumer and business demand, and a weakened credit system have pushed the economy into a classic downward spiral. In the absence of heroic government measures, the financial crisis will lead to a serious general depression. Yet very substantial public spending and recapitalization of the nation’s financial system, though necessary, are not sufficient. These measures must be combined with comprehensive regulation.
- Tags: Distribution of Wealth & Income | Financial Reform | Market Economy | Wall Street
- November 19, 2008
- From Middle to Shaky Ground
- The Economic Decline of America's Middle Class, 2000-2006
- By Tamara Draut Jennifer Wheary
- & Thomas M. Shapiro, Tatjana Meschede
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
A middle-class standard of living requires that families have adequate financial security to meet current obligations, invest in the future, and access opportunities. The most recent findings from the Middle Class Security Index show that between 2000 and 2006--even before the most recent economic downturn--the economic well-being of middle-class families slipped noticeably.
- Tags: Middle Class
- November 15, 2008
- Election Day Voter Registration in West Virginia
- By R. Michael Alvarez, Jonathan Nagler
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
The following report analyzes the likely impact on voter turnout should West Virginia adopt Election Day Registration (EDR). Under the system proposed in West Virginia, eligible voters who miss the 21-day deadline for registering by mail may be able to register to vote on Election Day. The availability of Election Day Registration procedures should give voters who have not previously registered the opportunity to vote. Consistent with existing research on the impact of EDR in the other states that use this process, the authors find that EDR would likely lead to substantial increases in voter turnout.
- Tags: Same Day Registration/Election Day Registration
- November 13, 2008
- The New Squeeze
- How a Perfect Storm of Bad Mortgages and Credit Card Debt Could Paralyze the Recovery
- By Jose Garcia
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The household economy--especially small business, homeowners and student borrowers--will continue to suffer during a sever tightening of lending credit and capital, in spite of the federal rescue plan, this new report shows.
The New Squeeze underscores how the continuing fallout from sub-prime speculation, resetting Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) and a severe tightening of lending credit and capital could impact the United States household economy for years to come.
- Tags: Credit Card Debt | Debt | Home Equity and Refinance | Home Loans and the Mortgage Meltdown | Housing Market | Lending Industry
- October 29, 2008
- An Agenda for Strengthening Our Nation's Democracy
- Conference Report & Policy Recommendations
- By Demos, Everday Democracy, and America Speaks
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In July 2008, 49 advocates, scholars, and thinkers met in Washington, D.C. and came to agreement on the
outlines of a broad agenda for democracy reform. In the weeks that followed, the participants broke into
workgroups and developed the recommendations outlined in this document.- Tags: Voter Registration | Election Administration | Expanding Civic Engagement
- October 29, 2008
- Toward an Equal Electorate
- Five States' Gains Under the National Voter Registration Act
- By Scott Novakowski
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The 2008 presidential election is historic, with election officials anticipating record turnout. While voter registration and turnout in U.S. elections historically has been skewed toward those with higher incomes, there are indications this may be changing.
Thanks to reforms implemented by officials in several states at the urging of Demos and its partners, this report documents the dramatic successes experienced by five states--North Carolina, Michigan, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Missouri.- Tags: National Voter Registration Act | Voter Registration
- October 20, 2008
- Expanding Voter Registration for Low-Income Virginians
- The Impact of the National Voter Registration Act
- By Scott Novakowski Allegra Chapman
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As in many states, voter registration among Virginia's low-income citizens lags far behind that of other citizens. One key to overcoming this disparity is state compliance with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which Congress enacted 15 years ago to ensure more widespread access to registration. Research and investigations conducted by Demos and its partners have shown that many states, including Virginia, have been failing to follow the NVRA's requirement to provide voter registration services through state agencies, particularly public assistance offices. This report outlines how, once informed of its inadequate performance, the state of Virginia immediately implemented a plan to bring its Department of Social Services offices into compliance with the law.
- Tags: National Voter Registration Act | Voter Registration
- September 15, 2008
- New Progressive Voices
- Values and Policies for the 21st Century
- By Miles Rapoport Stuart Comstock-Gay James Lardner
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- http://www.newprogressivevoices.com/
New Progressive Voices is a collection of essays by top progressive thinkers and leaders, including Demos President Miles Rapoport and Democracy Program Director Stuart Comstock-Gay.
- Tags: Voter Registration | Election Administration
- September 5, 2008
- Trading Up
- Win-Win Solutions to Raise Global Living Standards and Ensure the Success of American Workers
- By Demos, World Policy Institute
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Americans are confused and anxious about trade and globalization. On the one hand, many voters fear for their jobs and living standards, worrying about rising competition from developing nations. On the other hand, many Americans see clear benefits from globalization, believe that the United States must engage in the global economy, and want poorer nations to develop. Trading Up offers a new framework for understanding and responding to this phenomenon--one that balances a commitment to markets and open trade with dramatic efforts to reduce inequities and insecurities.
- Tags: Trade, Workers, and Geo-economics
- September 4, 2008
- Talking about Trade and Economic Globalization
- A Message Builder from the U.S. in the World Initiative
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- Tags: Trade
- September 4, 2008
- Balancing Open Trade and Economic Security
- "Flexicurity" in Denmark
- By Demos, World Policy Institute
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- Tags: Trade, Workers, and Geo-economics | Trade
- July 15, 2008
- Beyond the Mortgage Meltdown
- Addressing the Current Crisis, Avoiding a Future Catastrophe
- By James Lardner
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Beyond the Mortgage Meltdown is a compelling analysis that distills the origins and nature of the crisis in the housing market. Senior Fellow James Lardner highlights the complicity of regulators and lawmakers in the genesis of the mortgage epidemic, and warns that bolder steps will be needed to stem the rate of foreclosures along with its broader economic impact to protect both markets and consumers against future catastrophe.
- Tags: Home Loans and the Mortgage Meltdown | Financial Reform | Home Equity and Refinance | Housing Market
- May 6, 2008
- The Progressive Generation
- How Young Adults Think About the Economy
- By Center for American Progress
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- http://www.americanprogress.org
"The Progressive Generation", provides an extensive examination of the economic views of young adults today, finding that on a wide range of economic issues, from taxes to government spending, and from healthcare to support for labor unions, young people today have decidedly progressive views.
- Tags: Economic Challenges of Young People
- May 6, 2008
- The Economic State of Young America
- By Tamara Draut
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The Economic State of Young America is a comprehensive databook offering proof that a combination of declining incomes, growing debt, and high costs of education, homeownership and healthcare are conspiring to make this generation the first to not surpass the living standards of their parents. The report examines the financial condition of today's young adults across key economic indicators, including jobs and income, debt and savings, college access and attainment, and housing affordability.
- Tags: Economic Challenges of Young People | Student Loans and Student Loan Debt
- May 1, 2008
- How Same Day Registration Became Law in North Carolina
- By Steven Carbo
- & Joyce Kirschner
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2007 was the first year that the North Carolina General Assembly seriously considered Same Day Registration. SDR bills had been introduced in prior years and attracted legislative support, but never gained sufficient traction. This report recounts North Carolina's road to Same Day Registration from three different perspectives: legislative supporters, elections officials and the advocacy community.
- Tags: Same Day Registration/Election Day Registration | Voter Registration
- April 1, 2008
- Expanding Voter Registration for Low-Income Citizens
- How North Carolina is Realizing the Promise of the National Voter Registration Act
- By Lisa J. Danetz Scott Novakowski
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Surveys conducted by Demos, Project Vote and ACORN uncovered widespread noncompliance with the National Voter Registration Act--a federal law that requires human services agencies to provide voter registration services. Among those states was North Carolina. The report chronicles North Carolina's laudable re-implementation efforts, and describes its plan as a "model for the many other states across the country that are failing to fully comply with Section 7 of the NVRA."
- Tags: National Voter Registration Act | Voter Registration
- April 1, 2008
- Election Day Voter Registration in Vermont
- By R. Michael Alvarez, Jonathan Nagler
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R. Michael Alvarez of the California Institute of Technology and Jonathan Nagler of NYU analyze the likely impact of Election Day Registration on voter turnout in Vermont.
- Tags: Same Day Registration/Election Day Registration | Voter Registration
- March 20, 2008
- Election Day Voter Registration in Massachusetts
- By R. Michael Alvarez and Jonathan Nagler
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R. Michael Alvarez of the California Institute of Technology and Jonathan Nagler of NYU analyze the likely impact of Election Day Registration on voter turnout in Massachusetts.
- Tags: Same Day Registration/Election Day Registration | Voter Registration
- February 21, 2008
- Economic (In)Security
- The Experience of the African-American and Latino Middle Classes
- By Tamara Draut Jennifer Wheary
- & Thomas M. Shapiro, Tatjana Meschede
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As the next installment in the By a Thread series, Economic (In)Security uses the Middle Class Security Index to provide the first comprehensive portrait of the level of financial security enjoyed by African-American and Latino middle-class families. The findings show that, in the wake of fading economic opportunity, these two rapidly growing groups face mounting obstacles in becoming part of, and remaining securely in, America's middle class.
- Tags: Middle Class
- February 11, 2008
- Unequal Access
- Neglecting the National Voter Registration Act, 1995-2007
- By Scott Novakowski
- & Doug Hess
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Noncompliance with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which requires voter registration at public assistance agencies, violates the rights of thousands of low income citizens across the nation. As this report shows, twelve years since the enactment of the NVRA, states across the country have regularly failed to comply with public assistance voter registration requirements, depriving low-income citizens of the opportunity to participate in the electoral process.
- Tags: National Voter Registration Act
- January 23, 2008
- In the Red or In the Black?
- Understanding the Relationship Between Household Debt and Assets
- By Jose Garcia
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In the Red or In the Black? looks at whether household savings serve to protect families from incurring unsecured debt, and in turn, whether the presence of unsecured debt acts as a barrier to savings and wealth accumulation.
- Tags: Asset Building | Credit Card Debt | Debt
- December 6, 2007
- Anatomy of a Successful Campaign for Election Day Registration in Iowa
- By Steven Carbo
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With the governor Chet Culver's pen stroke, Iowa became the eighth state in the nation to extend the franchise to otherwise eligible citizens who had not yet registered to vote at the close of voter registration deadlines. This report recounts the successful implementation of Election Day Registration in Iowa.
- Tags: Same Day Registration/Election Day Registration | Voter Registration
- November 28, 2007
- By a Thread
- The New Experience of America's Middle Class
- By Tamara Draut Jennifer Wheary
- & Thomas M. Shapiro
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Developed in collaboration with the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University, By a Thread: The New Experience of America's Middle Class looks at the financial security of the middle class using the innovative Middle Class Security Index, rating household stability across five core economic factors: assets, educational achievement, housing costs, budget and healthcare. The Index provides a comprehensive portrait of how well middle-class families are faring in each of these areas, with spotlight on the strengths and vulnerabilities of today's middle class.
- Tags: Middle Class
- November 20, 2007
- Election Day Registration: A Ground Level View
- What Local Election Officials Have Learned About Letting Americans Register and Vote on the Same Day
- By Steven Carbo Stuart Comstock-Gay Regina M. Eaton
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To assess the validity of assertions that enactment of Election Day Registration results in administrative complexity, implementation costs, and the potential for error or fraud, Demos conducted a telephone survey of local election officials in EDR states; Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Wyoming. This reports provides a telling picture of how local election officials responded.
- Tags: Same Day Registration/Election Day Registration | Voter Registration
- November 20, 2007
- A Fallible "Fail-Safe"
- An Analysis of Provisional Balloting Problems in the 2006 Election
- By Scott Novakowski
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A Fallible 'Fail-Safe' provides a snapshot of provisional balloting problems experienced by voters across the nation in November 2006, as reported by Election Protection volunteers. While provisional ballots may comprise only a fraction of the national vote, as this report shows, they determined the outcome of various electoral races in 2006.
- Tags: Provisional Balloting
- November 19, 2007
- An Analysis of Voter Fraud in The United States
- Adapted from the 2003 Report, Securing The Vote
- By Lorraine C. Minnite
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Since the 2000 election, a historic effort has been underway in the United States to strengthen voting systems across all 50 states and to address obstacles to broader electoral participation. At both the federal and state levels, however, efforts to advance a reform agenda have been frequently complicated by heated debates over the integrity of voting systems--and by allegations of widespread election fraud, and its cohort, voter fraud.
In this report, Demos Senior Fellow Lorraine C. Minnite and David Callahan provide a comprehensive picture of voter fraud in the United States.
- Tags: Voter Fraud, Voter ID and Election Integrity
- November 18, 2007
- Election Day Registration
- A Study of Voter Fraud Allegations and Findings on Voter Roll Security
- By Lorraine C. Minnite
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Barnard College political scientist and Demos Senior Fellow Lorraine C. Minnite draws on research into the scale and scope of the problem of voter fraud to examine its prevalence in states with Election Day Registration.
- Tags: Same Day Registration/Election Day Registration | Voter Fraud, Voter ID and Election Integrity | Voter Registration
- November 7, 2007
- Borrowing to Make Ends Meet
- The Rapid Growth of Credit Card Debt in America
- By Jose Garcia
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Americans carry over $800 Billion in credit card debt. Using most recent data from the Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Consumer Finances, Borrowing to Make Ends Meet exposes this and other disturbing trends, and also provides detailed data based on age, race and income demographics.
- Tags: Credit Card Debt | Debt
- November 6, 2007
- Election Day Voter Registration in Iowa
- By R. Michael Alvarez and Jonathan Nagler
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R. Michael Alvarez of the California Institute of Technology and Jonathan Nagler of NYU analyze the likely impact of Election Day Registration on voter turnout in Iowa.
- Tags: Same Day Registration/Election Day Registration | Voter Registration
- November 6, 2007
- Same Day Voter Registration in North Carolina
- By R. Michael Alvarez and Jonathan Nagler
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
R. Michael Alvarez of the California Institute of Technology and Jonathan Nagler of NYU analyze the likely impact of Election Day Registration on voter turnout in North Carolina.
- Tags: Same Day Registration/Election Day Registration | Voter Registration
- March 25, 2005
- By, or for, the People?
- A Meta-Analysis of Public Opinion of Government
- By Meg Bostrom
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Since the advent of modern public opinion polling, much has been written about public attitudes toward government. The range of studied topics includes: trends in public trust and confidence, support for government agencies, and recently the effect of the events of September 11, 2001 on public perceptions of government and public servants, trends in civic involvement, factors influencing political identification, and more. Typically, these analyses thoroughly review a few specific trends in public opinion, such as historical trends in perceptions of trust in government, confidence in institutions, or views of taxes, and the reasons behind those trends.
- Tags: Public Opinion and Messaging
- April 23, 2004
- Making Voting Easier
- Election Day Registration in New York
- By R. Michael Alvarez, Jonathan Nagler, Catherine H. Wilson
- View the PDF (To Download, right click and 'save link as')
As policymakers, election officials, and the public consider whether New York should change the way in which voters are allowed to register to participate in elections, and bring New York State election law into compliance with the Help America Vote Act, the following report provides an analysis of the potential impact of election day registration (EDR) in New York.
- Tags: Same Day Registration/Election Day Registration | Voter Registration
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