A number of states have recently passed voter-ID legislation — among them, Texas, Alabama, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island. Two others, Georgia and Indiana, implemented such laws years ago. This trend has the Left hyperventilating. From former president Bill Clinton to NAACP head Benjamin Jealous, irresponsible cries of “Jim Crow” have been uttered in a losing attempt to sell Americans a great lie: that requiring someone to authenticate his or her identity at the polling place by showing a government-issued photo identification is anything like the despicable discrimination that once existed in the South.

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This policy initiative responds to the research conducted by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in a two-part analysis, Asset Building in Low-Income Communities of Color, Part 1 and Asset Building in Low-Income Communities of Color, Part 2, that examined and compared a wide range of policy options in twenty target states, crafted to promote asset-building in low-income communities.

As a result of a controversial new redistricting map, first-term Rep. Hansen Clarke has announced plans to run in a redrawn district that was for decades represented by Rep. John Conyers, a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

According to David Bositis, a political analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Clarke, who ousted long-serving Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick in 2010, probably has a better chance of winning the now-whiter district than Conyers because the elder statesman may be too vocally liberal and “out there” for its new voters. Conyers told BET.com earlier this month that he was considering running in the 13th district that Clarke currently represents, but has not yet announced a decision.

Read more at BET.

Politic365.com’s Charles D. Ellison talks with Dr. Wilhelmina Leigh, Senior Research Associate on Economic Security Issues at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.  Dr. Leigh offers insight in recent job growth proposals outlined by President Obama and what that means in terms of the current economic and political climate.  She also talks about the bi-partisan, bi-cameral debt commission and a recent proposal by Rep. Dan Larson (D-CT) to create a jobs committee.

Politic365.com’s Charles D. Ellison talks with Dr. Wilhelmina Leigh, Senior Research Associate on Economic Security Issues at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.  Dr. Leigh offers insight in recent job growth proposals outlined by President Obama and what that means in terms of the current economic and political climate.  She also talks about the bi-partisan, bi-cameral debt commission and a recent proposal by Rep. Dan Larson (D-CT) to create a jobs committee.

Read more at Politic365.

President Obama began a three-day bus tour of the Midwest on Monday following the news of his lowest poll numbers ever. According to Gallup poll findings, his approval rating dropped to 40 percent from Aug. 8-14 and during that period, hit a low of 39 percent for Aug. 11-13. The dismal numbers are in part a result of his bruising debt-ceiling battle with congressional Republicans that has the American public angry with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. If Obama learned one thing from the experience, it’s that when he tries to engage voters in what’s going on, they tend to agree more with him.

And that’s exactly what he did at a town hall style meeting in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, the first stop of his tour.

"I'm here to enlist you in a fight," said Obama, shirtsleeves rolled up and ready to rumble. "We are here to fight for the future of our country. And that’s a fight we are going to win."

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David Bositis, a political analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic studies, said that Americans’ anger at Washington lawmakers won’t subside until there have been four or five months of solid job growth.

“Remember, 90 percent of people who want a job have a job, but even they’re feeling a great deal of anxiety, as if they could lose their job at any time or are just one step away from catastrophe,” Bositis said. “That’s not going to change until the economy starts settling down.”

Read more at BET.

In this era of wild stock market fluctuations and general economic uncertainty, retirement planning is more important than ever. Pension funds are under assault. Home equity and 401(k) plans have lost value. And job security has become an oxymoron. As many as 60 percent of Americans have no idea how they'll live after they retire. There is hope, however. We'll talk with retirement planning experts about what even the most economically challenged families and individuals can do. How to create financial security for your later years.

Guests include Joint Center expert Dr. Wilhelmina Leigh.

Listen to the recorded audio from WAMU at The Diane Rehm Show.

The U.S. fiscal and economic challenges today stem from a basic problem: too many companies and assets are owned solely for profit. It boils down to what I will call an ownership crisis.

Because mortgages were owned by investors all over the world, when the U.S. housing market collapsed, the pain was global, as homeowners and financial institutions went into a downward economic spiral.

Now, the debates surrounding the growing federal debt raise related concerns: Who owns America? Will foreign nations continue to buy Treasury securities and invest in U.S. businesses? The past three years show us why it is time to consider a different approach to ownership: cooperatives. If more assets and businesses were owned and controlled by the people who use them, our economy could be more stable.

Read more at The New York Times.

A year ago, Colorado's African-American community braced for the unimaginable: a legislature without a single black lawmaker for the first time in nearly six decades.

Denver's first black mayor, Wellington Webb, was among those who fretted about whether African-Americans would have a voice when the legislature convened in 2011.

But much has changed in the past 12 months.

Two blacks serve in the Colorado General Assembly.

Two blacks are now on the Denver City Council.

And Denver, with a black population of only 10 percent, just elected its second black mayor, Michael Hancock.

A year ago, it was Hancock, a city councilman at the time, who was upbeat despite worries from some in the black community.

"African-American candidates, no matter where they live, can appeal to voters because their issues are the same: education, job security, the economy," he said.

He soared past the white front-runner in the mayoral race, which came as no surprise to David Bositis​, a Beltway political analyst.

"When you're talking about a place like Colorado, its record in many respects is extraordinary," said Bositis, with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, D.C. "The state has a long history of white voters supporting the candidate they believe is best."

Read more at The Denver Post.

ATLANTA — The Georgia and Fayette County chapters of the NAACP have joined 11 Fayette County voters in a lawsuit against the county's board of commissioners and board of education, alleging that its practice of at-large elections is disenfranchising black voters.

The federal lawsuit was filed Tuesday also lists as defendants the Fayette County Board of Elections. According to the 2010 Census, Fayette County is nearly 73 percent white and 21 percent black. The lawsuit says that because of the practice, no black candidate has ever been elected to the county's board of commissioners or board of education.

"Plaintiffs assert that Fayette County's at-large method of electing members to these boards, given the levels of racially polarized voting, guarantees precisely this result," the lawsuit reads. "Elections in Fayette County show a clear pattern of racially polarized voting. Although black voters are politically cohesive, bloc voting by other members of the electorate consistently defeats black-preferred candidates."

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"If African-Americans were a minority within the larger unit, but of sufficient number in some areas of that unit ... then the county would adopt an at-large system which would have the effect of giving whites control over who gets elected in the county," Bositis said. "The Voting Rights Act is about systems that keep African-Americans from electing the candidates of their choice."

Read more at ajc.com and The Final Call.