Posted by Tina
The Democrats don’t have a successful record to run on for 2014. Healthcare is unpopular and deeply flawed, the economy has been sluggish since recovery began in 2009, and the President’s foreign policy leadership has created a world of chaos and uncertainty. What to do?
They always go back to the same old playbook so the answer is, create resentment and anger for a segment of the constituency and pander to them.
Enter President Obama with his little pen and his magic phone. AP reports:
Obama on Tuesday planned to sign an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from retaliating against workers who discuss their pay. He also was to direct the Labor Department to issue new rules requiring federal contractors to provide compensation data that includes a breakdown by race and gender.
Way to go Mr. President. The value of a workers performance doesn’t matter, only his race and gender! The contribution he makes doesn’t matter…his gender does. Also, stirring up division and resentment on the job should make the workplace wonderfully productive and satisfying for everyone! (You can sure tell this man has been a community organizer all his adult days)
Next up Harry Reid and company in the Senate:
The Democratic-controlled Senate this week planned to take up legislation that would make it easier for workers to sue companies for paying women less than men because of gender. The legislation, like Obama’s narrower executive order, would forbid companies from punishing workers who share salary information and would allow punitive and compensatory damages in lawsuits.
Driving this push is the erroneous notion that women are still treated unfairly in the workplace. Statistics are readily available to “prove” it too! According to the Census Bureau annual earnings for women were only 77% of earnings for men last year. Oh no!
Women, they hope, will scream, “No fair!” and run, not walk, to the polls to vote for Democrats in November.
But there’s a problem with this phony stupid attempt to gin up anger in you, ladies. The disparity in earning has several explanations that have nothing to do with unfair treatment or a failure to value a woman’s contribution in the workplace. The most obvious is that women work fewer hours than men. Women leave the workforce or take time away for bearing and caring for children. Stay at home moms are gaining respect they haven’t seen in decades! Men work at dangerous and dirty high risk jobs that pay extremely well and women are more attracted to work in service and support jobs. So although women are more likely to go to college and earn a degree the work they choose and the hours they spend at work don’t compare equally…and that explains most of the so-called “gap”.
When you think about candidates in November consider the six year long terrible unemployment rate and the sluggish growth in the non-recovering economy. They are both directly related to a six year focus on redistribution, higher taxes, and so-called “fairness”. The result has been anything but fair. We’ve endured the worst economy and jobs situation since the Great Depression. Progressives don’t know squat about creating jobs and making the economy work for men or women…for the young or the poor…for any American. They only know how to stir up animosity and division while selecting from on high those who shall be winners and those who shall be losers…those they will favor and those they will punish.
This is not America!
We need a big change in Washington DC. Democrats have cost all Americans six years of lost opportunity and pay. I’ve given up on the hope that Democrats will learn from their mistakes and work to improve the economy and the jobs situation. Over 40 bills to create jobs passed in the House and sit unconsidered in the Senate. Harry Reid, President Obama and the democrats have proven that they don’t care about creating jobs or the needs of the people. They believe in and desire federal government control and manipulation. The chance to change the situation and set the nation on more solid footing begins in the 2014 election…and ends in 2016 presidential election. But it will take women voters who are smart enough and informed enough to not be fooled by the phony issues and empty promises made by Democrats to get it done.
Ladies, we need opportunity not only for ourselves but for our husbands and sons, our daughters and sisters…the veterans, the young, and the poor…the entire nation needs a growing economy and JOBS, JOBS, JOBS.
Women can make a big difference just by refusing to be bought by the progressive Democrat playbook gimmicks! There is no truth behind the so-called gender pay gap.
Tina: “The value of a workers performance doesn’t matter, only his race and gender!”
Tina, when you immediately resort to strawman arguments, it shows that you lack confidence in your ability to attack the actual positions of your opponents.
Out of curiosity, have you read the studies which conclude that the gender pay gap is a real thing, and that it can’t be fully explained by the factors you mention above? If you have not read those studies, how can you state so confidently that “There is no truth behind the so-called gender pay gap?” If you haven’t looked at the data, then you’re making your conclusion based on what your party tells you to believe, not on facts.
So Chris, if there is a gender wage gap why wouldn’t those greedy capitalists hire women when they can get them to do the same work for less money.
I mean if it all comes down to making as much money as possible isn’t that what they’d do?
Bob this gender wage-gap is more a creation of the left than a reality. Check this out: The White House was asked why their female employees make 12% less on average than their male counterparts. The White House explained we must take into account other reasons like education, work experience, etc. to arrive at what is a fair wage. “A resident scholar at AEI, noted that the wage gap within the White House might “not be based on discrimination, but based on the fact that women and men are playing different roles within the organization.” Funny the White House has never mentioned that before when complaining about this mythical gender inequality foisted on the country be evil republicans.
“Sahil Kapur – April 7, 2014, 4:15 PM EDT5569
The White House defended its own pay gap between male and female employees on Monday, as it gears up for an executive and legislative push to reduce wage disparities between men and women.
During his daily briefing, White House spokesman Jay Carney was asked about a study by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, that said women at the White House earn 88 cents for every dollar men earn.
“What I can tell you is that we have as an institution here have aggressively addressed this challenge, and obviously, though, at the 88 cents that you cite, that is not a hundred, but it is better than the national average,” Carney said, as recounted by the Washington Post. “And when it comes to the bottom line that women who do the same work as men have to be paid the same, there is no question that that is happening here at the White House at every level.”
He pointed out that one of the White House’s two deputy chiefs of staff is a woman, and that both earn the same salary. He also said more than one in two departments are lead by women.
Republicans highlighted the study to attack the Democrats’ pay equity push ahead of a Wednesday vote in the Senate on the Paycheck Fairness Act, which enhances protections for women facing pay disparities in the workplace.
“All Republicans support equal pay for equal work. … The truth is the ‘Paycheck Fairness Act’ is a desperate political ploy and Democrats are cynically betting that Americans aren’t smart enough to know better,” Kirsten Kukowski, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said in a statement. “The ‘Paycheck Fairness Act’ doesn’t provide paycheck fairness for women, instead it cuts flexibility in the work place for working moms and ends merit pay that rewards good work—the very things that are important to us.”
Chris, It’s not a straw man argument!
If a boss followed this edict he would be forced to base pay, or a raise in pay, on gender rather than qualifications and work performance. Not all applicants are equal. The boss would also be forced to either reward/overcompensate the underachiever and rip off the guy (or gal) whose qualifications and performance was much better.
Every worker deserves to be paid based on his qualifications, work performance, and reliability. It is absolutely within the right of the company to consider each person who applies for work, or who is up for promotion or raise, individually. No two workers are alike; gender has nothing to do with it.
And the idea that government would or should monitor and control this is offensive and appalling.
I have not read the studies you site. But my determination is not lacking in data. Had you read the information provided at the links you would know that the information I posted is based on data. More importantly I have personal experience as an employer who has hired people of different ages, races and genders and know from experience that some workers are just not as proficient or dedicated as others…and once again gender has nothing to do with it.
I also know the progressive way of thinking which doesn’t include the individual, his abilities and attitudes, or the circumstances but instead looks to cookie cutter edicts that come from on high.
I have also seen the difference between women in the workforce in 1965 and women in the workforce in 2014. It’s time for women to stop whining and asking daddy government for help.
Women are entrepreneurs, CEO’s and small business owners. They hold prominent positions in government, the university, in departments and board rooms and in sports and entertainment. One woman, a black woman, has become a billionaire and owns her own television network. Other women have risen to become Supreme Court Justices and Secretaries of State. Women are lawyers, surgeons, and professors. Women don’t need more help to get ahead.
The best way to earn more money is to work hard and improve skills.
Given your propensity to read studies, likely done by liberals, as the only measure to evaluate this issue I’d say it’s quite likely you are simply responding with the progressive line rather than thinking the issue through.
One bit of advice i would give to any woman in any job is don’t be afraid to honk your own horn…women are quite often followers who wait for someone else to hand them something rather than realizing they’ve earned it.
LOL
Barefoot and Pregnant!
Not as Educated as men!
Way to get votes! LOL
Barefoot and pregnant?
Only by their own choices. Men don’t dare try to “interfere” in such things unless invited to express an opinion…even then it doesn’t matter much!
Not as educated?
Not true:
Why Do Women Outnumber Men in College?
Wives Are Now More Educated than Husbands In the U.S.
More Working Women Than Men Have College Degrees, Census Bureau Reports
Women more likely than men to have a college degree
Young men and boys need more from America now. The lib movement has just about succeeded in making young men into second class citizens.
If there was a gender wage gap it would close quickly.
Since it would be cheaper to hire women than men for the same work, employers have a higher demand for women workers than for men.
This higher demand for women workers would drive up their wages until an equilibrium was established.
Yes PS even Obammie has a wage gap going on…well, well, well…yet they will come up with some hair brained law that will be forced on everyone but them…kinda like Algore and his mansion and his jet setting…he sure couldn’t stick his carbon foot print in his mouth and he’s got a huge mouth…
I hope they force companies to pay women more. That will just decrease the demand for women workers and drive up the demand for men. Then men will have more job security.
The wage gap is bigger today because women can’t even find a job in Obama’s non-recovery recovery. Women are staying home to care for the kids if their husbands are fortunate enough to have a job or two to go to.
There are more women unemployed today than six years ago when Obama took office.
I can just see the republican candidate’s ads asking women if they are better off today than they were before Obama, if they feel more secure today and believe their children’s future will be better?
The answer is a big fat no to all!!
Tina: “If a boss followed this edict he would be forced to base pay, or a raise in pay, on gender rather than qualifications and work performance.”
No, that’s not remotely correct, and I suspect you know that already. Here is the portion of the AP report you cited:
“He also was to direct the Labor Department to issue new rules requiring federal contractors to provide compensation data that includes a breakdown by race and gender.”
There is no rational interpretation of that sentence that means Obama is forcing employers to base pay on gender and race rather than by accomplishment. This is about providing data.
“The boss would also be forced to either reward/overcompensate the underachiever and rip off the guy (or gal) whose qualifications and performance was much better.”
Again, you’re simply making this up. There is nothing in what you cited to justify these ridiculous accusations.
“I have not read the studies you site.”
I didn’t cite any studies. I asked you if you had read studies that concluded the gender pay gap is real. I’m not saying it is real or it isn’t, and you know why? Because I haven’t read them either!
“But my determination is not lacking in data. Had you read the information provided at the links you would know that the information I posted is based on data.”
You provided one link to support your statement that the gender pay gap is not real. The article is not a study itself, but is written by two scholars who work for an institution with a reputation for stretching the truth. Again, I’m not saying their conclusions are wrong; I’m saying that I don’t have enough data at the ready to decide one way or another. And neither do you.
“Given your propensity to read studies, likely done by liberals,”
This response says everything that anyone needs to know about your attitude toward scientific data, Tina. You immediately reject studies if you even SUSPECT the scholars who conducted said study to be of a party affiliation you find distasteful. By the same token, you immediately accept the findings of studies done by your ideological cohorts. This is not wise, Tina. It makes a mockery of the need for academic studies in the first place. Why do you even bother citing studies at all if you have already decided that the ones which prove your preconceived notions must be true, but the ones that do not must be false? You are play-acting credibility at this point.
“as the only measure to evaluate this issue I’d say it’s quite likely you are simply responding with the progressive line rather than thinking the issue through.”
I haven’t even said one way or another whether or not I believe the gender pay gap exists, so your accusation that I am merely touting the “progressive line” is totally unfair, not to mention hypocritical. I admit I have not researched the issue enough to be sure. You, who have also not researched the issue enough to be sure (as you basically admit with your allergic reaction to any study you perceive to be conducted by eeeevil liberals) have instead leaped to a conclusion anyway, based entirely on the partisan line of conservatives.
Don’t call the kettle black, Ms. Potts.
Chris: “There is no rational interpretation of that sentence that means Obama is forcing employers to base pay on gender and race…”
Naive child. You probably think this is just something they will do with government contractors. Actually it’s something they want done for every employer in the nation. It’s about control. These are radical progressives and fairness is the game (They decide what’s fair). What the heck do you think the government will do with the data that’s collected? A visit from(probably armed) NLRB agents when your stats don’t measure up…maybe a bit of harassment from OSHA as well. Fines will follow for even the smallest infraction.
“…two scholars who work for an institution with a reputation for stretching the truth… you immediately accept the findings of studies done by your ideological cohorts.”
I believe I cited my own quite extensive experience as an employer. Not only do I have experience with employees and their differences, I have experience with the government. I based my opinion and agreement with the “truth stretchers” on this extensive experience.
“I admit I have not researched the issue enough to be sure.”
And yet you felt confident enough to challenge me right out of the box and insult people who cited data taken from “Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2012,” by Bureau of Labor Statistics, such as: 1. Men were almost twice as likely as women to work more than 40 hours a week, and women almost twice as likely to work only 35 to 39 hours per week, and 2. BLS reports that single women who have never married earned 96% of men’s earnings in 2012.
Their conclusion from this study: “While the BLS reports that full-time female workers earned 81% of full-time males, that is very different than saying that women earned 81% of what men earned for doing the same jobs, while working the same hours, with the same level of risk, with the same educational background and the same years of continuous, uninterrupted work experience, and assuming no gender differences in family roles like child care.”
It is indeed…and it points to the fact that the President, Nancy Pelosi and others are playing fast and loose with the data, insinuating something that is not true for their own political purposes.
I don’t reject studies by liberals based on them being “evil” but on the ideology that drives them in their studies. They are who they are; their purpose is generally very simple: make the case for big government power and control, higher taxes and more regulation. Either that or find justification to destroy the target du jour.
“Don’t call the kettle black, Ms. Potts”
I rather like the character, Pepper Potts, and my favorite line, “I do anything and everything Mr. Stark requires. Including occasionally taking out the trash. Will that be all?”
Yes, I think we’re done!
Good point Peggy. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out in the campaigns.
Jay Carney lies again and is corrected by historian.
Who’s Really Responsible for the Civil Rights Act?:
“In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat with a mixed record on race, signed the Civil Rights Act into law — something his Republican challenger in that year’s election, Sen. Barry Goldwater, had voted against, despite having a solid civil rights record up to that point.
Senate Republican Leader Everett Dirksen on the cover of Time magazine after the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. (http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19640619,00.html)
Is this simple divide what shaped the modern perception of each political party’s record on civil rights?
Michael Zak, author of “Back to Basics for the Republican Party,” which chronicles the party’s civil rights heritage, believes Goldwater was a significant factor, by forgetting that the 1964 bill virtually mirrored Republican-backed legislation from 1875.
“Democrat pundits pretend that the 1964 Civil Rights Act was the creation of the Kennedy or Johnson administrations, but in fact it was an extension of the Republican Party’s 1957 and 1960 Civil Rights Acts,” Zak told TheBlaze. “Barry Goldwater, the GOP’s presidential nominee that year, did not appreciate the fact that the 1964 Civil Rights Act was thoroughly Republican policy.”
Continued.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/04/10/whos-really-responsible-for-the-civil-rights-act/