I Can't Believe I Missed IT!

Well, who knew? Apparently August 26 is Women's Equality Day. I got an email about it from OFA (Obama's Organizing for Action PAC) but didn't open it. It was entitled "What will you do to help, Michael", so I didn't realize how important it was. Perhaps they should take some lessons from CNN (see previous post).

I have been on their mailing list since the group was created, 2009 I think. Lots of laughs in some respects but quite dismal in others. As you can imagine they don't see things quite the way we do.

The author of the email,

Traci Wile
Director of Community Engagement
Organizing for Action

informs me that while much progress has been made in the fight to gain equal rights for women there is much more to be done.

Several specific issues are highlighted.

As everyone on the left "knows" women do not earn as much as men because, well, they never tell you the reason or explain how this is possible, since it is a violation of  black letter law protecting women's civil rights to pay them less than a man for doing the same work and has been for a very long time.

What they cannot tell you, because most non-socialists would say "So what?" is that the reason women, as a group, earn less than men, as a group, is that more women tend to work in low paying jobs than men do.

If they were to expose their real agenda it would go something like  this:

Teachers are very important and should be paid much more than they are currently. Maybe, but who is going to pay for their increased pay? Right, we are and that is a loser of an argument so they continue to attempt to persuade us that women are paid less for doing the same work as men which we would all find unacceptable.

As I mentioned before that is not only untrue it is illegal, and the consequences of  such practises can be very expensive. There is an entire federal bureaucracy dedicated to policing just this sort of thing.

You all have working women in your lives. Do you know a single one who would stand still for being paid less than the guy in the next cubicle for doing the same work? I don't either.

Oh and,

"Basic health care and contraceptive rights for women are under attack."

What?

Well it is true that we are intent on repealing Obamacare completely. Does that mean "Basic Health care (for women)...is under attack"? In a word, no.

There were 10.7 million people enrolled in Obamacare as of March 2017. Of those I am guessing at least half are men and minors. So about 5,000,000 women. Does Ms. Wile not care about anyone but her own tribe!

So, in Ms. Wile's fantasy the basic health care of  women is "under attack". It is estimated that there are currently about 165,000,000 adult women living in America. If Ms. Wile's assertion is about women's basic health care being under attack, that "attack" would be threatening about 3% of women. Those covered by Obamacare. Not women generally. Do you have any doubt that she knows that? I don't either but it wouldn't make anywhere near as good a story.

There is no one making the argument that the people providing health insurance to most of the other approximately 160,000,000 women in this country, Medicare, Medicaid, Veteran's Administration or private insurers is "attacking" women's policies.

As to contraception, if anyone can make a logical case for mandated insurance coverage for women's contraceptives I would like to see it because I have not seen it yet.

My fundamental objection to the notion is simple. Whatever an insurance company pays for is spread among its insureds. I see no reason at all that a single male or a gay male or any male at all should contribute a dime toward the cost of contraception for anyone who is not his significant other. None.

There is an interesting potential parallel to this issue. Should taxpayers who do not have children be forced to pay school taxes?

Is it possible that the reason those of us without kids in the public school system contribute is the general public benefit conferred by the education and socializing of children we live in close proximity too?

There seems to be a curious connection between these two discussions. Maybe I should reconsider and contribute to every woman's contraception needs if she, in turn, will promise not to send any children she does have to public school. That system would wither and die and I could stop paying school taxes.