On Tuesday, President Barack Obama is to sign two new executive orders on equal pay for equal work. These orders will coincide with "Equal Pay Day," a date that symbolizes how far into this year women must work to earn the same amount of money earned by men last year.
These executive orders mirror provisions of Obama's Paycheck Fairness Act, which Congress has failed twice to pass. These provisions are partially inspired by Lilly Ledbetter, for which Obama's first equal pay bill is named.
Women working full time in the U.S. still make an average of 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. Researchers "who have taken into account factor's that may contribute to that gap...still find that men get paid 7 percent more than women."
The American Association of University Women called Obama's actions "a victory for working families nationwide."
Congress will vote once more on the Paycheck Fairness Act on Tuesday, although the GOP-controlled House may well daff it.
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) opposed the bill, calling it a political move by the Democrats. He told his colleagues that "we have great differences of opinion here."
This is a tremendous mark of progress. It is, indeed, the type of action that our president should be taking in order to fix what's broken in this nation. He's fighting hard, as he has been for several years and will most likely do for a few more, to secure equality for women in the workplace. All those angered by this--well, they are certainly displaying their feelings toward women.
Speaking of such opposition, let's take a look at fancy-pants Lamar coming in here with his political accusations. Let's consider, as well, the article's noting of the fact that a GOP-controlled Congress is more likely to "bring [the bill] to the floor." It's clear; the Republican Party opposes paying working women what they should be paid.
Article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/06/obama-equal-pay_n_5100361.html?ir=Politics&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000010
Byron Otis- I'm not sure whether it's the source, well known liberal Huffington Post, your own liberal leanings, or if it's just pure prejudice driving this congressional republicans, but no actual reason is given for their opposition to the Paycheck Fairness Act, and as hard as I think, I cannot for the life of me find one. Unfortunately, I'm too lazy to wade through conservative articles to find an example of a legitimate "political move" associated with this act (however, personally, I'm inclined to doubt its existence)
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that President Obama is doing whatever it takes to get equal pay for men and women. Men and women do the same jobs and put in the same amount of effort, so I'm glad that they will finally be paid equally as well.
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