It's no secret that I'm a bleeding-heart liberal and proud of it. To me, there are worse things to be called in life. People who use the term "bleeding-heart" suggest that caring a lot about the rights and quality of life for the collective or community at-large is a bad thing. Of course, I disagree, but I'm not writing to preach. Everyone has the freedom to make their own judgments, and I respect that.
It's also no secret that I adore politics, government, and law. One might hope that I would love law considering I collected enough debt in my 3 years at law school to have "a mortgage without a house". So, in the interest of sharing some of my interests, I'd like to share two quick notes of interest on current events/politics.
1. The Supreme Court decided that an employee or former employee may not sue his or her employer for sex discrimination if the suit is filed in an "untimely manner". The case, Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. , involved a woman who sued her employer for paying her significantly less than equally positioned male employees. The decision was a 5-4 vote, which means that it is binding law on future court decisions relating to pay discrimination. For those who don't follow the Supreme Court, Justice Kennedy is the critical swing vote in any decision because the court is split with 4 consistent conservatives and 4 consistent liberals. Justice Kennedy is the critical vote in the very recent court decisions on climate change and the so called "partial birth" abortion ban.
Getting back to the Ledbetter case, an analysis that really captures the major problem with the decision can be found on the Slate.com website. The article is short and well written. The bottom line is that the Ledbetter decision creates a massive loophole where employers can screw any employee and get away with it as long as the employee doesn't sue within a short period of time. Frankly, discrimination is tough to prove to begin with and it is totally reasonable (from my bleeding-heart perspective) for an employee to wait until his or her next raise comes along to see if his or her (usually her) pay rate is truly lower than equally positioned men. The other main problem is that the court unrealistically focuses exclusively on the employers intent rather than looking at wrongful actions. Interestingly, the author of the opinion, Justice Alito, has been routinely criticized for his position on women's issues including discrimination and other important issues. (See page 2 of the National Women's Law Center critique of Alito's nomination)
My point is that the issue of discrimination in the workplace is not just a women's issue. Most couples today are two-income households, so the financial impact is real. Further, women are roughly half of the world, a significant market for trade and economic development. If women are consistently paid less for equal work, then women have less money to spend on all sorts of products. More and more women support themselves financially, buy homes, purchase goods, pay taxes, and do all the things that men do to support a market. I think there's a major interest in making sure that women both have and are able to spend their well-earned money to keep our economy strong.
Even if you don't have a two-income household or believe in a direct impact, our society decided long ago that discrimination in any form is wrong. Limiting someone's rights or value potential because of sex, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other reason is wrong. Do we really want to create a new generation (of people or laws) that gives a select few the power to limit the economic value of others because of unchangeable characteristics? Many of us realize that a slight shift in facts or circumstances can put you on the other side of the discrimination line. Needless to say, the Ledbetter decision is another important case that many may not pay particular attention to because life is busy and the news is depressing. However, this is worth knowing about, so I send it on to you.
2. I went to Senator Barack Obama's Seattle kick-off event last night with my good friend, Amy Worrell-Kneller. I should mention that I don't have a favorite Presidential candidate yet because the field is wide and we have a lot of time until primary season. That being said, I was impressed with Senator Obama's message. He emphasized his history working for Civil Rights and made his message very inclusive. Especially noteworthy was Senator Obama's message that government is not a bad thing. The idea that government is the evil in America and that small government is better government is just flat wrong for many things like Constitutional rights, critical social programs, and giving individuals like you and me a voice. I know we often (if not always) feel like politicians aren't working for us, but I've seen grassroots politics make a difference. In fact, I think everyone has seen grassroots organizing make a difference. Why do we have a minimum wage? Why do we have any recognized rights under the Constitution? Why do we have standards on environmental pollution that work to provide clean drinking water to our communities? So often, we are willing to write-off government for its failures without looking at all the successes government has provided to us.
In my mind, we have a vote on who to elect for elected office, which means that if enough of us stand together we have power -- more power than money. On the other hand, we don't have a vote in corporate boardrooms, so private entities don't have the same level of accountability. For those who argue, "Yes, but corporations respond to the market", I say "Bull****". Corporations play a major role in forming your opinions on what you need. Just think of all the useless crap you've purchased in your life because you thought you "needed" it. Corporations help you decide what you "want" not what you "need", and I know I'm a "want" driven consumer.
Food for thought… Whether you agree or disagree, thanks for reading. In the future, I'll try to be a little more concise.
Wishing you all the best,
Bleeding-Heart Darcy
No comments:
Post a Comment