I wanted to write about this yesterday, but I really don't know how I want to go about it. It isn't something that I am exactly comfortable with, I mean there are many things I can just muscle past, but some things, not so much.
One attempt went into a deal with minimum wage, another went into the Jensen deal, and somewhere along the lines I just gave up on it for a few days. Look, I am a guy, and while pay shouldn't be something that bothers me it does. Maybe it is because my Mom left a damn good job because of it, maybe its because my Mom had to work two jobs, while her male counterparts could make a living with one in the same field. Maybe, I do feel that the Missus should be at home, not pregnant slaving away cleaning the house, or raising kids, but that should be a viable option for her, if she wants that life. In many ways, I am the son of my fathers, outdated and archaic. I still open doors on dates, pull out chairs, pick up the tab at dinner or the movie. I don't expect a kiss at the end of the date, nor anything that follows. In some ways I fancy myself a very old school gentleman, women are all princesses until such time as they show otherwise. Wives are Queens, and should be treated as such.
But as I said, I am archaic, in the world we have today, women do not all wish to be treated like Queens, kept and pampered. Some want to work, they want their own place in the world, and as much as I might not care for it, I can respect it, and I can deal with it. It is the change in society, and I will change with it, hopefully my children will not be as archaic as I can be in the wrong ways, but will be in the right ways. I still think those things stand for something, when done the right way.
But one thing I clearly remember is what my Mom went through in her life. Leaving a good job because the man who graduated after her, who placed lower in his class than she did in hers, got paid more in that job. My mother and I share many similarities, its odd how often our personalities conflict, because we have similar mindsets, and are both rabid in our beliefs. And the truth is, I don't blame her for walking out. I would have, and I have, but it is in no way the same thing. See, she busted her backside getting an education, and to go into the labor market, where she was paid nearly half of what the men were was bad. But when the guy who scored lower on tests for employment, finished behind her in class placement was paid more, and promoted faster, that should cause everyone to be pissed. When she started hauling heavy equipment, because the government said the company had to have a specific number of minority drivers, she was paid less than her counterparts, and was forced to work several jobs at once. When she was not able to drive, she was a waiter, trying to raise me.
That is some crap right there. I do not subscribe to the notions of some Texas women who say "Women deserve less pay" or "Women should become better negotiators." Those two concepts are complete and total bullshit. They are a backwards way of thinking, they are far more archaic than I could ever dream in my worst nightmare. If you do a days work, you deserve a days pay, regardless of gender. The only thing that should influence pay, and this is a loose influence depending on the type of job, is education and experience.
As it stands women have improved their standing in pay, I doubt men still receive 50% more pay at the job my mother walked out on. But they still do not get equal pay. You are looking at a difference in pay. Lets be fair, it might be a quarter per hour less for the same job, but it isn't fair. But here comes the GOP to the rescue, you know the small government that has it's true size hidden in the gaps.
Mr. Abbott proclaims that he is like me, he supports equal pay for women who are compatibly educated and or experienced to their male counterparts. But the problem is, his actions indicate otherwise. Thats right, his own office does not support his model. Sorry, I would find a way to make pay equal, even if I had to cut my own pay to make it work.
But then, they trod out women to tow the line. I might be sexist, I might be many things, but I am not going to trod someone of the opposite sex out to support my views. If they do so because they want to, or because they actually agree with me, I won't stop them. Of course, if it wasn't so infuriating to hear, it might actually be a wonderful script for Leave it to Beaver, or some other 40's, 50's or early 60's sitcom based in that era. One Texas Republican said that women were "too busy" to be concerned about equal pay. The hell? I'm sorry, I don't think they are too busy to be worried about it. I think that ranks up there with eating, having a roof over her head, making sure her children eat, and according to many conservatives "asking to be raped".
Yeah, that is pretty sexist in its own right. But this is why the GOP is doomed as it stands today. It is far too archaic to survive in a modern world. It seeks to hold people back, keep people in what the party members see as their place. This will ultimately be yet another nail in its coffin, and really the nails need to be put in faster, so we can start moving forward.
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