Massachustetts Senator Scott Brown has been criticized for his role in blocking the “Paycheck Fairness Act.” What is interesting and perhaps more instructive are the votes of Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.
Here are some facts:
• Snowe and Collins are both moderate Republicans who often disappoint their party by voting with the Democrats,
• Snowe and Collins are both female and support the moral imperative of equal pay for equal work, and;
• Snowe and Collins both voted to block the “Paycheck Fairness Act.”
How can this be?
Olympia Snowe had problems with the scope of the bill, terming it “unprecedented,” and observed that it would provide unlimited monetary damages making it nearly impossible to get insurance to cover claims. Collins had similar reservations, stating that now is not the time to add significant legal costs to small businesses struggling in the current recession.
Snowe and Collins also both agreed that existing remedies in the Equal Pay Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 provide strong protections.
As for me, I think a lot of political posturing is accomplished by the titles dreamed up for various bills. What if the headlines had read “Brown helps block the Job Suppression and Trial Lawyer Charity Act of 2010?”
Fairness is VERY important, and everyone (woman or man) should be paid a fair amount for his/her work. But we should be careful about forcing wages to be "exactly fair" (read "exactly identical"). For instance, is there any value for experience? Future/potential value of the employee? Other intangibles?
ReplyDeleteAll right, let's simplify it. Should every bottle of Coke be priced the same, everywhere, all the time? After all, it's just a bottle of Coke, with none of the complicating human factors I mentioned above. This should be a great idea. Right?
Oh wait... Goodbye free market.
While not a precise analogue, it should make you stop and think about the larger picture.