Feminists have complained about the pay gap for years.There is a new gap. The unemployment gender gap.
To advance their cause, feminists ignore many realities. Men tend to put work before family. Men work more overtime. Men don’t get pregnant and raise the cost of employing them. Men are physically stronger. The list can go on and on. This doesn’t mean men are better than women, but wages show is that hiring men is less costly on average then hiring women.
Our new gender gap is the unemployment gap. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the unemployment rate for men is 11. 4% while it stands at 8.8% for women (read more).
There are probably multiple reasons for the gap. Those who whine about the pay gap are silent to the unemployment gap. Surprised? Of course not.
The reason for the gap is obvious to those that believe in the free market.
Men make more money
Geez..this seems obvious. If men make more money then women, doesn’t it make sense that a company looking to cut costs and improve efficiency is going to let the overpriced men go first. We like to call this a market correction. It didn’t require a law that will last long beyond its usefulness. It didn’t require endless debate with expensive studies. It didn’t require the taking of freedom from employers.
Men are employed in different economic sectors
Housing is hard hit so home construction is down. Governments are operating huge budget deficits, so government construction is down. The banks are going through turmoil, so high stress finance jobs are down.
On the flip side, women are employed as teachers and nurses at a higher rate then men. Education and health care are some of the only sectors that have not been hit hard by the economy.
Eventually, some men will abandon the sectors that no longer require them for growing sectors. This will help to alleviate the health care shortage that is expected in the coming years. It may also help the teacher shortage in more dangerous school zones. Again, the free market can do magical things without government intervention.
Women are part of the protected class
When choosing who to let go, you can bet that employers are worried about law suits. It is a constant threat to business (including doctors). Women are perceived by our culture and our courts as being victims of gender discrimination. Any business considering layoffs must surely keep this in mind when letting the axe fall.
The free market can’t fix this problem because protected classes are a function of government intervention in the market place. This will remain an issue as long as government is an active participant in protecting certain people.
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in
Common Sense on November 30th, 2009
The world offered to give Iran the uranium it needed for nuclear power. They declined. Then the world threatened sanctions and Iran responded by announcing the building of 10 more uranium processing facilities. (read more)
Now is the time to test the results of the Obama World apology tour. If Iran can be isolated, then they can be deterred from moving forward with their nuclear ambitions, but we don’t have a lot of time. The world has been dithering for years while Iran has been building its nuclear program.
Can President Obama convince the world to unify against Iran? It is highly unlikely considering the wide spectrum of national interests and goals. Obama fancies himself the great communicator. It’s time for the talk to turn into action.
I concluded that global warming was a hoax a long time ago. Because I have an engineering background, I was able to read and understand the competing theories. I understand the physics of global warming and the problems with computer models. I listened to the arguments and reviewed the real world. I started out sketpical of global warming and my opinion changed to opposition as I learned more.
It is now clear that the scientific community has been actively participating in this hoax. (LINK). I haven’t read evidence which reveals the motive for the deception, but we have proof that the deception is real (unlike global warming).
How do we move forward from this point?
We need to start from the point that global warming is a hoax. As far as I am concerned, we no longer need to argue the merits of the theory. It’s garbage. As Al Gore once said, “The debate is over”. Let’s move past the scientific argument.
Those who argued against global warming need to pivot to the people that tried to use the global warming hoax. Al Gore and many scientist used it to make tons of money. Barack Obama and the Democrats hoped to use the hoax as a way to fundamentally change our system by imposing a carbon tax. That doesn’t mean all those that wanted a Cap and Tax law knew it was a hoax. Many people are lead astray by so-called experts.
What the Global Warming hoax reveals is some people who will take any strand of evidence to increase the role of government and to fundamentally change our system. It shows the disdain that some people have for the Consitution and free markets. What is shows is that progressvies and liberals will use any popular belief to push for a more socialist agenda.
Katrina…more government. Increasing health care costs…more government. Preceived global climate change…more government. Banking and credit problems…more government. After global warming, the progressives and liberals wil just move to the next crisis..real or created.
For every problem, the progressive mindset wants to grab more power. The power grabbers can’t be trusted. Without vigilant oversight, we will slowly move towards tyranny and away from liberty.
The left wing is being exposed. There has been a steady stream of videos from biggovernment.com exposing the corruption at ACORN. Now we have a hacker who as exposed the fraud of the global warming hysteria (link).
Exposing corruption and fraud is what we expect from the media. They have special protections in the law in order to accomplish this important role. Unfortunately, the media has given up on its traditional role as watch dog. They have left it to people who are fed up.
People are taking the risk of being prosecuted for the offense of exposing corruption. Hannah Giles and James O’Keefe are being sued and are under the threat of prosecution for their role in exposing ACORN. I’m sure the hacker who has exposed the global warming hoax is also at risk. These risks wouldn’t be necessary if the media would do their job for which they have special protections.
Unbiased media…hardly.
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in
Liberal Bias on November 21st, 2009
China is a mess (literally), yet American liberals always paint their fellow country men as the great evil force of the world.
See More Photos…
Kevin Anderson is a 17 year old boyscout working on his Eagle Scout requirement. He has spent over 200 hours clearing a walking path in east Allentown park. To most American’s, this type of volunteering is seen as a good thing. It’s good unless you are part of a union.
SEIU has a problem with this type of service. Nick Belzano if the president of the local SEIU chapter and he had this to say:
“We’ll be looking into the Cub Scout or Boy Scout who did the trails,” Balzano told the council.
Balzano said Saturday he isn’t targeting Boy Scouts. But given the city’s decision in July to lay off 39 SEIU members, Balzano said “there’s to be no volunteers.” No one except union members may pick up a hoe or shovel, plant a flower or clear a walking path.
read more…
Towns have no money. That’s why 39 SEIU members were laid off. Those jobs are perceived as a right to union members. There position is if we don’t do the work, you must go without.
Isn’t this at odds with the President’s call to service?
The boy scouts have been performing these services for years. The problem is, the boy scouts do it without government control. They perform acts of service as individuals…not as slaves to the state.
Our President is definitely not bowing to the Emperor of Japan. It’s worse. He is asking if he buys his tiny little shoes in the kids department.
Bob Casey likes to think of himself as a moderate Democrat. That’s one distorted mirror.
Carbon pollution threatens our future and human life itself
Read more…
That’s not moderate or rational. It’s either an excuse for his position that the government should control the energy sector (along with the health sector) of our economy or he believes the most extreme position of Global Warming.
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in
Congress on November 14th, 2009
Q. Why do we have gun-free military bases?
A. Because of the gun hating liberals.
From the Washington Times:
Among President Clinton’s first acts upon taking office in 1993 was to disarm U.S. soldiers on military bases. In March 1993, the Army imposed regulations forbidding military personnel from carrying their personal firearms and making it almost impossible for commanders to issue firearms to soldiers in the U.S. for personal protection. For the most part, only military police regularly carry firearms on base, and their presence is stretched thin by high demand for MPs in war zones.
Because of Mr. Clinton, terrorists would face more return fire if they attacked a Texas Wal-Mart than the gunman faced at Fort Hood, home of the heavily armed and feared 1st Cavalry Division. That’s why a civilian policewoman from off base was the one whose marksmanship ended Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan’s rampage.
Gun free zones are deceptively dangerous places. When a lunatic is on the loose, would you rather be in a bar with a bunch of gun toting bikers or in school with the teacher’s rhetorical skills there to deflect harm?
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in
Common Sense on November 11th, 2009
It is appropriate that Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving are so close together. We should all give thanks to the men and women who volunteer to defend liberty, the Constitution and our way of life.
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in
Common Sense on November 11th, 2009
Congressman Murphy of the 8th District in Southeastern PA claims he is a “Blue Dog” Democrat, but his voting record tells another story:
Murphy claims he is a, “moderate” although he constantly votes with the extreme left of the Democrat party. He has a 100% rating with NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League). He also voted for the Stimulus bill. He has a D+ rating from the NRA. He is an extremist.
Read More…
He also got an F rating from National Taxpayers Union (link).
Note: Only 16 Democrats D’s. The rest got F’s. On the Republican side there is 1-F, 3-D’s, 48 C’s, 96 B’s and 44 A’s.
Since we (well…me) are on partisanship, I looked at ACLU ratings by party and put them in a nice little graph (below). You can see the Dems are skewed more to the left then the Republicans are to the right.
Click for larger image
And the Democrats were going to end partisan politics? It seems to me that the Democrats are a party of taxing extremists while the Republicans are the big tent party.
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in
Congress on November 11th, 2009
Our President seems to latch on to any illogical argument hoping to advance his agenda. Speaking to Jake Tapper about the threat of jail time to those who refuse to buy health insurance, President Obama said:
What I think is appropriate is that in the same way that everybody has to get auto insurance and if you don’t, you’re subject to some penalty, that in this situation, if you have the ability to buy insurance, it’s affordable and you choose not to do so, forcing you and me and everybody else to subsidize you, you know, there’s a thousand dollar hidden tax that families all across America are — are burdened by because of the fact that people don’t have health insurance, you know, there’s nothing wrong with a penalty.
What is he missing? You don’t have to drive. You can decide that your circumstances call for no car and therefore no insurance.
I understand his point that people without insurance burden the system, but how much of this is the system and how much is caused by irresponsible people. It is government that has driven up the cost of health care. It is government that imposes mandates that drives up the cost of health insurance. It is government that thwarts the free market by unconstitutionally placing barriers to interstate commerce. It is government that makes it easier for the hospital to seek government payments than to chase down their own payments.
I say fix the problem, not the symptom.
Posted by: The Elephant Owner in
Health Care on November 10th, 2009
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