Demos

w o r k i n g f o r a n e q ua l s ay

a n d a n e q u a l c h a n c e f o r a l l

Dēmos is a public policyorganization working for an America where we all have an equal say in ourdemocracy and an equal chance in our economy.

Dēmos is a public policyorganization working for an America where we all have an equal say in ourdemocracy and an equal chance in our economy.

I t is the root word of democracy and reminds us that in America, the true source of our greatness is the diversity

of our people.

Our nation’s highest challenge is to create a democracy that truly empowers people of all backgrounds, so that we all have a say in setting the policies that shape opportunity and provide for our common future.

To help America meet that challenge, Dēmos deploys original research, advocacy, litigation, and strategic communications to reduce both political and economic inequality in order to create the America the people deserve.

Dēmos means “t h e p e o p l e ”

t h e p r o m i s eo f A m e r i c A

3 e s s e n t i A l g o A l s

t o r e a l i z e

Achieving true democracy by reducing the role of money in politics and guaranteeing the freedom to vote

Creating pathways to ensure a diverse, expanding middle class in a new, sustainable economy

Transforming the public narrative to elevate the values of community and racial equity

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i s B o l d | Dēmos does not constrain our thinking to the politics of the day; we have high aspirations for our nation. We regularly move ideas that have been excluded from the debate on behalf of people who have been excluded from the conversation.

h A s s t o r y | Recognizing the power of narrative in shaping people’s worldview and building public will for change, Dēmos is telling new stories about our countryand our future.

B u i l d s m o v e m e n t | Our work supports advocates in almost all 50 states who are working to increase economic opportunity and democratic participation in their communities.

Dēmos is changing the conversation around our democracy and our economy by being a constant and increas-ingly influential voice in the media. Our team is speaking up for economi-cally and politically disem-powered citizens in forums where they are too often forgotten. Skilled at com-municating a progressive viewpoint, last year Dēmos’ staff and fellows appeared on television an

average of three times a week and served as a critical resource for web and print journalists, pushing forward an honest dialogue about the challenges facing the nation. Our proven ability to raise public awareness on important policy questions is the result of coordinated efforts between Dēmos’ researchers, communica-tions team, fellows, and PolicyShop bloggers.

o u r I m pa c t: M e D i A

expanding and protecting the Freedom to Vote

A m e r i c a m u s t f i e r c e l y protect the freedom to vote for all citizens, regardless of race or privilege. But that ideal has never been realized and shortsighted politicians continue to restrict our freedom for their

own political advantage. Needless red tape thwarts eligible citizens from registering and voting, distorting the electorate along age, race, and class lines and undermining the guarantee of a truly representative government.

Dēmos is holding our nation to a higher standard as we work to empower people who are being left out of the process of making decisions for the direction of the country. We advocate in the courts and for policies at every level that will ensure that the dēmos in our democracy can speak up, be heard, and exert real influence on the decisions that affect all of our lives.

By enforcing laws such as the National Voter Registration Act, defending against attacks on voting and promoting a positive voting rights agenda, including Same Day Registration across the states, Dēmos is helping millions of individuals exercise their freedom to vote.

B ecause of Dēmos, nearly 2 million low-income

Americans in over a dozen states have applied to register to vote at state agencies. By expanding agency-based voter registration under the neglected National Voter Registration Act, we are holding government accountable for lowering barriers to voting. This work is empowering low-income Americans to have a say in

setting the rules that shape opportunity for them and their children. Dēmos has also led the push to expand access to registration and voting through reforms such as Same Day Registration, which boosts turnout by making registration and voting a one-step process. Our research, advocacy and coalition-building have helped bring Same Day Registration to seven new states plus the District of Columbia.

o u r I m pa c t: V OT i N g R i g h T S

rebuilding pathways to a Diverse, strong and expanding middle class

T h e m i d d l e c l a s s was America’s single greatest invention, and it was no accident. it was the result of smart public policy and it required business, government and workers all to contribute. But over the past 40 years that

social contract frayed as it expanded to include more Americans that were formerly excluded, including women and people of color. With government and business less committed to ensuring widespread gains, individuals are shouldering virtually the entire burden. This go-it-alone economic system is creating record inequality and it has stalled our engine of mobility for the next generation.

Fortunately, America still knows what it takes to create a strong middle class—respect for labor, decent pay and benefits, and investments for the common good such as education, research and infrastructure—and together we can harness the will to ensure that our future middle class reflects our diverse nation.

Over the past decade, our team has been ahead of the curve on issues such as credit card debt and the economic decline confronting a new generation. Dēmos’ new agenda includes both short- and long-term ideas to reboot opportunity and reduce inequality: from removing obstacles to jobs by restricting the use of credit checks by employers to creating debt-free college in the 21st century.

n early a decade ago, Dēmos identified the

problem of rising debt among working and middle class families. We deployed original research and communications strategies to shift the public narrative about the issue from “irresponsible spending” to “irresponsible lending” and from “frivolous debt” to “debt for necessities.” Dēmos then generated ideas for new card protections and

helped expand the coalition fighting for reform. Our advocacy contributed to a historic rewriting of the rules on credit cards to make them more fair and affordable. The Credit CARD Act of 2009 has already saved working families nearly $100 billion and demonstrated that together, we can take on powerful industries and win greater economic security for all of us.

o u r I m pa c t: h O u S e h O l D D e B T

reducing the role of Wealth& corporate power inpolitics & policy

Ou r d e m o c r a c y i s out of balance. Because courts have hobbled our campaign finance laws, a small group of wealthy donors and corporate interests can drown out the voices of the rest of us and determine who runs

for office, who wins elections, and what issues our leaders address. This elite dominance of politics has brought us the inequality era, where our economic policies reliably favor the wealthy and undermine upward mobility in America.

At Dēmos, we believe the strength of a citizen’s voice should not depend upon the size of her wallet. Our “money out, people in” agenda empowers ordinary citizens through public matching funds and incentives for small contributions, and curbs the power of big money by clarifying—through the Constitution or the courts—Americans’ right to prevent corporations and wealthy donors from translating economic dominance into outsized political influence.

We are elevating the connection between our unequal political system and our unequal economy, expanding the field of advocates, raising public awareness of the problem and the solutions, and advocating to bring our representatives in line with the overwhelming, bi-partisan support for a more equal democracy.

s erving as a consistent resource for media,

advocacy partners and policymakers, Dēmos is helping set the context for the problem of money in American politics. Through our signature research and reports, we have exposed the unprecedented role of Super PACs, dark money groups and business spending in the 2012 elections. Dēmos is helping

the broader public see the connections between elite control of politics and stunted upward mobility for the rest of Americans, linking our broken campaign finance system to policies that hold back middle and working class families on issues such as consumer debt, the minimum wage, higher education, family leave, tax and trade policy, and workers’ right to organize.

o u r I m pa c t: M O N e y i N P O l i T i C S

Developing a new economicmodel that prioritizesthe common Good

A f t e r t h e f i r s t gilded Age of rampant inequality, those who endured the crash and Depression demanded a new economic order built for shared prosperity. Today we find ourselves in a startlingly

similar moment, facing the consequences of an economy over-reliant on speculation and extraction, and yearning for a new direction.

Dēmos is focusing on a new role for business in society. We envision a world in which democracy writes the rules for capitalism, not the other way around—where people have the power to set expectations for the way business operates in an interdependent society.

We are also building on our record of achievement in the area of financial regulation to promote a vision of Wall Street as a pipeline for productive investment in the real economy, not a casino where insiders win by extracting wealth from the rest of us. And we are promoting an expanded view of progress beyond growth alone, recognizing that the well-being of our people and our planet are poorly captured—and poorly served—by a singular focus on gDP.

o u r I m pa c t: WA l l S T R e e T R e F O R M

D ēmos played a lead role in shaping the policy design,

rationale and advocacy for the historic passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

of 2010. Our efforts helped end the failed experiment of deregulated financial markets, asserting a place for good rules to promote stability and the public interest.

a true american Dēmos:Why racial equitymatters to us all

F o r t o o l o n g , our country has been marked by racial and class hierarchy instead of solidarity. Movements of ordinary people helped unite the nation around a civil rights

agenda 50 years ago, yet the population has only grown more diverse since then.

Today, across our politics, we suffer the effects of failing to settle the question of who is included in “of the people, by the people, for the people.” until we address structural racial inequalities and our persistent—often unconscious—biases, our entire society will be less prosperous and secure.

That is why Dēmos’ communications, policy and advocacy efforts aim for racial equity. Throughout all of our work we are advocating not just for people but for the very idea of the people—of one nation, united by a shared fate.

J o I n u s !

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