Policy Resources
A Right to Vote Amendment
If we truly want to build inclusive democracy, we must articulate an affirmative vision of an expansive right to vote in the Constitution itself. This paper lays out the kind of robust constitutional protection for the right to vote that we at Demos envision in the form of a new amendment—a Right-to-Vote Amendment for a 21st Century Democracy—that names how the right to vote has been obstructed over the years and offers concrete remedies to these distortions of our democracy.
Establish a Public Credit Registry
A proposed publicly run credit registry will gradually replace the current for-profit corporate system, and is designed to be responsive to consumer needs and equity concerns rather than the corporate bottom line. A public credit registry will develop algorithms that diminish the impact of past discrimination, deliver transparent credit scoring, provide greater data security and offer a publicly accountable way to resolve disputes. The use of credit information for non-lending purposes, such as employment, housing, and insurance, will be curtailed.
Cancel Student Debt
The burden of student debt reaches deep into communities of color, and increasing evidence suggests that it is hampering the ability to build wealth in the ways Americans have traditionally done. Default and delinquency rates on student loans remain appallingly high. It is time for the federal government to seriously consider a comprehensive, equitable policy of student loan cancellation, rather than piecemeal solutions reined in by fear-mongering or phantom concerns about the federal budget.
More Resources
Mobilizing disaffected voters and developing progressive messaging requires more than running against Trump's agenda. Progressives need to tell the public what we’ll do to address the economic insecurity and race-based exclusion they face in their daily lives. Everyone’s Economy and Everyone’s America are federal and state policy books that outline dozens of problems with our economy and our democracy; detail clear solutions; and offer polling snap shots, talking points, and further resources.
In the age of dog-whistle politics, progressives need a direct response. The Race-Class Narrative research explores the central question of how to engage simultaneously around race and class in ways that strengthen social solidarity, reduce division and scapegoating, as well as create a viable foundation for progressive policy victories. These empirically-validated, race-explicit narratives beat out both opposition and color-blind populist framing among both base and persuadable voters.
Demos' Social Exclusion Series
This paper by Connie Razza is the first in a series of short pieces from Demos concerning the dynamics of social exclusion and the relationship between individual instances of hostility towards people of color in the United States and how that hostility is powered by our policy choices.