For some peculiar reason, the news that there will be a vote on the Paycheck Fairness Bill today has somehow slipped right under the radar. How could that be?? Where is NOW? This issue gets second billing on their front page.
Did anyone really buy that crap the Democrats were floating about Lilly Ledbetter? I’m not saying it’s not an important bill but it’s sort of like the People’s Front of Judea fighting for a man’s right to have babies even though he ” ‘asn’t got a ‘oomb’ “. Come to think of it, if men wanted to have babies, that bill would probably get passed first.
C’mon people. Who’s really going to go to HR and ask to see the salaries of everyone in the department? It’s like branding your forehead with a giant “L”. HR is there to serve management, not troublemaking upstarts. And it’s only after you have the information that you know whether there’s a suit worth pursuing.
In any case, the bill is supposed to fall 60 votes short in the Senate. Are you frickin’ kidding me?? There are a bunch of lame ducks in the Senate. If they can’t take a stand for women and do something right now, when can we ever expect such a thing? And this would be a great boost to the economy that wouldn’t cost the government a cent. Yeah, actually pay women what they’re worth so they can go and buy stuff. What we really need for the economy to improve is for wages to increase and we’re half the fricking country. It’s a no-brainer guys. Even Republican women will love you for it. You don’t get better political cover than this.
So, what gives? Why is the concept of Paycheck Fairness, getting paid the same wages for the same work, regardless of your gender, meeting so much resistance in the 21st century? If there was only one regulation worth passing on business this session, this bill would be it.
And we hear- nothing.
Filed under: Gender Equity | Tagged: gender, Lilly Ledbetter, NOW, paycheck fairness bill, Senate |
The Confluence 
So, what gives? Why is the concept of Paycheck Fairness, getting paid the same wages for the same work, regardless of your gender, meeting so much resistance in the 21st century?
I think it’s either:
a) Never solve a wedge issue that can still be used in future campaigns and or
b) They really hate women
I think women should do to pols what the barons did to King John — twist arms until they sign a Magna Carta for Women.
Or they will work for paycheck fairness by reducing the amount men make. This is the New & Improved Democratic party, fortified with 100% Obama, we are talking about.
Have you read Anglachel’s latest post? She has Obama pegged. The guy doesn’t think he needs to do anything really with the tremendous opportunity he was handed. No, he will simply “nudge” you in the right direction and you will use his example of morality to reform your life.
I hate to say it but she’s absolutely right about him. In other words, he is what he is, he doesn’t have the capacity or desire to change and he is not going to get better in his second term. With George Bush, at least you knew what he was up to. His purpose in life was to undermine government so people wouldn’t depend on it anymore. With Obama, it’s worse. He doesn’t want to create or destroy. He wants you to adapt and behave nicely.
If Obots want that for a second term, they should know exactly what they are getting themselves and us into. Of course, they can foist him on us again but I am never going to vote for him and he’s definitely going to lose in 2012 if he runs.
Americans don’t have any patience for that shit.
With George Bush, at least you knew what he was up to. His purpose in life was to undermine government so people wouldn’t depend on it anymore.
This is true, except the part about government being as big as it wants to, and dictate in personal matters, such as who one can marry, a woman’s right to choose, or the right to travel without the fear of being sexually molested.
Votermom,
The New Democratic Party, doesn’t want you to have a Public Option ( that is why Nancy Pelosi let Obama block it for the GOP), they are also working hard with President Obama’s Cat Food Commission on Eliminating those pesky retirement programs you and your employer paid for Social Security and Medicare (they figure if they say it is welfare over and over again, you will agree too) and the Paycheck Fairness Act, well if the women folk didn’t get the message with President Obama’s Stupak Executive Order they will NOW.
Yup, and we are expected to clap while they do this, and to stay quiet on there doings while they do the work of the GOP.
Who could have thought!?!
Arms are the wrong body parts to twist.
Lysistrata had the right idea. 😉
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysistrata
In the meantime, Jeralyn is wasting precious bandwidth on Bristol Palin.
Women will never get anywhere in this world until they stop fighting each other over trivial shit.
Jeralyn seems obsessed with “reality” tv. She should try reading a book sometime.
Jeralyn hung out with Obots at the Denver convention and those zombies ate her brain.
I’m sorry, myiq, you can talk about lobotomy but Jeralyn is just a mean girl. That’s worse than being politically stupid and feckless.
What this discussion really needs is a D) All of the above answer.
Last night, she could have watched 2 episodes of In Treatment on HBO or Glee or a Nova episode tracking down a mysterious death in NOLA in the immediate aftermath of Katrina. Or even The Biggest Loser, which has more competitive cutthroat behavior and passion than anything you’ll see on DWTS.
then there are old movies on TBS or AMC. Or she could go see what David Bianculli recommended on TVWorthWatching. Instead, she concentrates all of her effort on Bristol Palin? That’s not just obsessive, that’s just stupid girl behavior, trying to punish another girl.
And it shows that Jeralyn has about as less class than the people who she condemns. My mom watches DWTS and she’s an avid book reader. She downloads from amazon to her ipad. She’s not stupid and yes, she probably voted last night. But my mom also used to be a ballroom dance teacher and I doubt she voted for Palin. But if she did, she probably did it to piss off women like Jeralyn.
Seriously. I’m beginning to think Jeralyn needs some therapy. It’s frightening how obsessed she is.
Silver lining in her post this morning is that several of her posters are beginning to disagree, object, and suggest she should back off.
Guess she’ll have to obsess/whine with Arianna dahling. Sheesh
It’s the crabs-in-a-basket syndrome. As soon as one of the crabs climbs up to the rim of the basket, the other crabs pull her back down.
One quick thing…it’s not that the bill will fall 60 votes short…it’s that it will fall short of the 60 votes needed to bring it to the Senate floor.
God, they’re even more cowardly than I thought. Why not at least get the reactionaries on record while you can to use against them in the next election?
I’ll tell you why. It’s Roe. As long as Roe is out there, Democrats will feel safe ignoring women. Get rid of it and the whole game changes. Then we fight for the whole enchilada.
Honk, honk.
The Democrats sure saved a lot of shit for this lame-duck session, didn’t they?
Are you suggesting they held back and are going to say they tried but couldn’t because they wouldn’t when they could!?!
lol
It’s kinda like the last 30 seconds of a basketball game, the only part that really counts.
Why didn’t they vote on this at the same time as the Lilly Ledbetter law?
Because the Ledbetter law was pretty toothless and actually paying women what they’re worth isn’t.
The former requires no effort, the latter demands spine.
Ergo…
I am pretty sure there are a ton of lobbiests all over this because it would cost $$. Some companies probably are paying women WELL BELOW men and in excess of the average paygap. To bring them up to the same pay as men are getting would cost a ton. What about backpay?
If they fix women’s pay, will that be the same as admitting they were paying less and subject them to Lilly Ledbetter? Would they owe back pay?
I wonder if Lilly Ledbetter actually will prevent Paycheck Fairness from ever happening?
Good point. We’ve been snookered again.
It’s a pattern, keep women’s issues closeted. Detract by hyping the dancing stars, the upcoming wedding
of Prince William, flight scans, etc. etc. Then come the next morning when work on important issues like fairness pay for women, everybody is dizzy.
Meanwhile the media is out playfully bullying women by telling us you gonna lose.
I think that since we seem to have re-set “acceptable” unemployment at 8-9% from the 4-5% it used to be, we’re going to see a lot of pressure wielded in various ways to get women out of the workforce — to make room for the men. Just like after WWII. Some of that will be cloaked in New Age-ish seeming progressive “back to the farm” sorts of domestic goddess imagery and some of it will come in more heavy-handed ways.
But when the papers keep calling this a “mancession” I think the target is now on the backs of women workers.
It’s a recession caused by men, that’s for sure.
Most of of the Wall Street banskters & colluders and kleptocrats are men.
The thing I have to ask is where are NOW and Emily’s List and why haven’t they done the equivalent of a whip count? Why haven’t they got people on the record and picked a couple of random targets?
It’s all swell and good to deliver sternly worded letters and to wag your fingers at people at bad behavior but at the end of the day it means nothing if you aren’t willing to use or risk your influence to get laws passed that benefit women.
I’m frustrated as heck at the women’s groups. Something this important should not have had the same or less importance then some random comment David Letterman made or whoever the celebrity du jour is/was.
Good question. Are NOW & Emily’s List advocating for women, or is their real purpose to drum up women votes for the candidates they like. They treat women like a demographic product.
I think women have given up.
This bill points to the fact that these guys never worked for a living, otherwise they’d know how the system really works.
Lost by 2 votes…………………….
Hey, what about that Food Safety bill??? readying a cloture vote??
I grow food, kill me…