Equal Pay for Equal Work

Flipping through the channels during lunch I stop at C-Span. Yesterday Hillary Clinton, today Senator Barbara Mikulski from Maryland. 

Hillary and Lilly

Mikulski’s speech was a call for the Senate to vote in favor of women’s rights by promoting “Equal Pay for Equal Work” through the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (S.181).

This bill was previously voted down by just two votes and  President Bush was threatening to veto it. Mikulski said that tomorrow (Thurs, Jan 14, 2009) there would be quite a debate about this resurrected bill. 

What?!

What is there to debate?!

Let me see… I have no idea what anyone makes at my office but I only have 180 days–from the day that I was paid less for the same job–to file a formal complaint? That is just silly. In April of 2008 the Republicans protested the bill because they were afraid too many lawsuits would follow. 

What?!

Isn’t that the idea? If women aren’t getting equal pay and their employer doesn’t rectify it, isn’t their legal course of action to sue?

Unfortunately, suing is one of the ways things get done in the US simply because our pocketbooks always speak loudest (no big surprise that electric cars finally started getting publicity when gas prices shot up to $4/gal and the Detroit Auto show is promoting fuel efficiency the year they asked for a bailout).

Mikulski stated that women currently only make 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes. This has changed very little in the last 30-40 years.

Over the holidays I learned from two professors in the family that women in academia (professors) make significantly less than a male counterpart who does the exact same job. I was shocked!

Click here for statistics (see page 3)

The problem is that even if people find out that professors make unequal salaries, of course a man isn’t going to demand that his salary is lowered to become equal to that of women and the women don’t want to risk their jobs.

Do you know if you are making the same salary/wage as your male counterpart?

Take action by contacting your local Senator today. It is easy and it really only takes a minute. Express that you would like them to vote in favor of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

 

Resources:

GovTrack: A civic project to track congress

PA Editors Blog: Political affairs magazine

Nature News: German Professor in Sex Discrimination Battle

UBC Planning and Institutional Research: Statistical Analysis of UBC Faculty Salaries

The Chronicle of Higher Education: Female Professors at U. of Texas-Austin Earn $9,000 Less Than Male Peers

Vilsack for Department of Agriculture or Corn Lobbyist

“Vilsack has championed the development of ethanol, an alternative energy, in Iowa — something that coincides with Obama’s vision for an energy-independent future, and something he can promote from the Department of Agriculture.” Source: CNN

Is ethanol really a good alternative energy source? What are the pros and cons? Will Vilsack be a good representative of the entire Department of Agriculture or will he spend all his time pushing for more ethanol production?

PROS OF ETHANOL
1. Clean burning
2. Potential providing more horsepower than gasoline
3. Already in production and added to current fuels
4. Higher thermodynamic efficiency = potentially better performance (if no gasoline is involved)
5. The Department of Energy claims the process of making ethanol results in a 34-66 percent surplus of energy
6. Gasoline blended with ethanol lowers carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide emissions 

CONS OF ETHANOL
1.  Alcohol is corrosive so storage tanks would need to made of stainless steel or plastic
2. Increases the use of pesticides, fertilizers, heavy equipment and transport
3. Doesn’t work well in cold weather
4. Cornell University scientist David Pimentel claims that it takes 1.3 gallons of oil to produce one gallon of ethanol.

The question is where to put our financial resources to most effectively reduce pollution and our dependence on foreign oil? Corn, hydrogen fuel cells, solar, wind? What fuels will dominate in the future?

Clues to a Future Economy in Farmland and iPhones

How will the US economy change to support our evolving society? The clues may be in the demand for farmland and the mass production of iPhones.

A recent dinner conversation revolved around where our economy and society are heading. Not a surprising topic, I know.

The surprise for me, however, was an interesting theory put forth: we will increasingly return to growing our own crops, working in cottage industries and revert to living much the way our society did before the industrial revolution.

I think I hear the Luddites cheering in their graves. But, should they? 

This “back to basics” trend seemed to clash with my theory that we are moving into a new “knowledge worker’s” economy. Farming gave way to industry and industry is giving way to knowledge work.

Need convinced? Challenge yourself to buy only products made in the USA or think of one person who currently (today, not 10 or 20 years ago) works on a factory line.  The idea that farming would be the alternative to industry sounded ludicrous, at first.

Then I mulled the new farming economy idea over a bit.

“Back to basic” classrooms haven’t abandoned the computer and just because we are becoming a more holistic (female oriented) thinking society again–evident in touch screen applications like the iPhone and the HP SmartTouch computer–doesn’t mean we have abandoned analytical (male oriented) thinking–evident in literacy and the binary code.

Holistic Computing

 

Then I did a little research. It’s true, growing crops or running a small organic farm is becoming increasingly popular. The US Department of Agriculture shows a 14 percent increase (between 1997-2002) in people under 35 operating small and medium-sized farms. (source wnyc.org)

Farmland is hot property these days. Nationwide, it is up nearly 9 percent from a year ago. Iowa farmland has increased in value 18 percent. South Dakota’s value has risen 21 percent.

While some wealthy landowners celebrate this, average farmers and young people who want to own their farms are shut out.

“There are a whole lot of young people wanting to farm – both children of farm families and young people from cities and suburban towns who want to farm,” says Teresa Opheim, executive director of Practical Farmers of Iowa. (Source: The Christian Science Monitor, Richard Mertens (11/18/08))

Come to think of it, a personal friend of mine just moved back to South Dakota so that her husband could start a cattle business with his father and another friend created gardens in a Denver suburb as part of an outreach program.

It is also true, however, that farms and cottage industries don’t run at all the way they did during the pre-industrial era. They use machines to complete tasks, research, chart, and sell products. The poor Luddites would be so confused with all this melding of old and new.

At a fundraiser I was thrilled to hear a woman politician expound, “We need more women in politics, not to put down men but to have equal representation. If we want peace in the world we need the the differing insights of both women and men working together.” 

In the same way, I am thrilled to think about a new economy where we can take the best of our past holistic matriarchal societies and our more recent analytic patriarchal society to create a hybrid society that is both scientific and caring, profitable and creative. This is the change I voted for!

Of course change is often a struggle, whether it’s cutting a first tooth, learning to read or working on a home remodel, but I don’t want to be toothless, illiterate or live with 1980s Oak Express stairs.

Maybe, just maybe, we should be celebrating the recent economic “readjustment”?

No Driver Tractor

Pirates of Somalia

To take the Suez Canal or go the old school route around Cape of Good Hope? That is the question that shipping companies must now make in the rise of Somalian piracy.

Shipping vessels must decide either to risk being hijacked by Somalian pirates if they go through the Gulf of Aden, which leads to the Suez Canal short cut to Europe, or take two additional weeks to sail around the southern tip of Africa, which will increase prices for consumers. No one wants an increase in prices so buck up sailors!

How high is the risk really? 90 vessels have been hijacked this year. Sounds like a lot until you compare it to the amount of traffic going through the area. According to the Maritime Transport Sector of Arabic Republic of Egypt 20,384 vessels came knocking at the Suez canal in 2007. If as many ships attempt that route in 2008 there is a 4/10th of one percent chance that a ship will be seized by pirates. That may not seem like much but who wants to be “the one” ram-shacked by pirates? 

Another problem the pirates inadvertently created is an increase in Insurance for ships who do risk going through the Gulf of Aden–by ten fold in the last year. Is it the 100% chance of paying extortion insurance or 4/10th of a one percent of being seized by pirates that shippers are concerned about? Just a guess but, maybe the true decision maker of whether to take the short cut might be the additional price that every ship must pay if taking the short cut. 

So, what do the pirates want? What everyone wants! Money. The Saudis shipping the oil want it, the companies insuring the ships want it, and who can blame the Somalians for wanting their share too?

Pirates hold the ships hostage and ask for $300K-$1.5M in ransom money. What do they do with it? Act like good business men and buy more ships to more effectively pillage the seas. If you are imagining a group of rough and tumble barbarians acting like ancient business men, the incarnation of Jack Sparrow, think again.

When word gets out that a ship has been hijacked a bunch of guys who have been enjoying a meal at the local pirate diner in Ely, Puntland (an autonomous but not independent region in Somalia) jump up, change into spiffy clothes and ties, grab their laptops and run to shore. They are the pirates’ accountants, chief negotiators, and such. Although only a few men are pirates there is an entire industry supporting them back on shore from guards to cooks.

Somalia is an agricultural based country, one of the poorest in the world.

With fancy houses, expensive cars, fast boats, powerful weapons, clan relations to the president, and contacts in Dubai do you think that the pirates in Ely will be stopping anytime soon? Can they be stopped?

One might equate the pirates to the “mafia of the coasts”, the “drug lords of the seas”, or “terrorists of the oceans” but at least they aren’t blowing anyone up (well, not yet anyway). In fact, several legitimate catering businesses have popped up and are booming in Ely by supplying the meals that feed the hostages during negotiations. 

Perhaps the pirate industry in Somalia should rebrand themselves as the ship tolling industry. “Want to take the shipping short cut to Europe? Just a smallish fee and we’ll let you through.”

(Picture borrowed from “Church of The Flying Spaghetti Monster” blog. Thanks!)

Democrats Favor Another Bailout. Can it be stopped?

What is the best reason to be an Independent?

You can support Obama and get severely aggravated that the Democrats in congress want to bail out the three American car companies.

Are the democrats out of their freak’n minds? Bush is offering to follow through on a promise he made long ago to dish out loans to the automakers–loans (not give away money) to help them build more fuel efficient cars. That is one of the few things I can agree on with the Bush administration. Was that a pig that just few by my window?

With the Detroit 3’s finances in the toilet I’m not sure how the government thinks the loans will be repaid or why they want to borrow more money from China, but at least they aren’t just giving the money away and it would be going towards a fuel efficiency effort. 

The problem is that American auto makers are years behind the fuel efficiency trend. Not news to you, I know.

General Motors funded (hey, where did they get that money?) a survey that shows most Americans support the car bailout. Unbiased? Sure.

Makes me wonder if they used the same company to provide surveys results showing that Americans want big, gas guzzling cars? Ok, may the Hummer Club does but they are a minority. 

Perhaps these auto makers should have checked Craig’s List (for free) to see what cars are most popular and getting top dollar. Even one of our burly remodeling contractors was looking for a small fuel efficient vehicle this summer.

The bailout supporters claim that 1 out of every 10 jobs is related to the auto industry and their collapse could be a severe blow to our economy. How did they define “related”? Advertisers, food vendors and the like. Give me a break! If they worked on it about 5 more minutes they could brainstorm a way to make EVERY job related to the auto industry. It’s a global economy, of course the American auto industry’s collapse will create a ripple effect. Doesn’t mean that we should keep funding a non-profitable company. Anyone smell socialism?

Beyond a bailout or a bailout loan, how about thinking outside the box and start making long term decisions?

Here is an idea: take the money the government would use to bailout three companies who have not responded to public needs and are not profitable and instead create the green jobs that Obama was talking about during his campaign. Hello, perfect opportunity to get that program going.

The government could subsidize solar paneling and windmills so that nearly everyone on your street is using clean energy and being employed by the companies that are providing clean, UNLIMITED, energy. It would be a double whammy of creating new jobs and lessening our dependence on coal, even foreign oil if we plugged our cars into a solar grid. 

What do you think we should do?

Comments welcome on this post and sent to your representatives. It’s easier than you think to make your voice heard and your vote count.

Click on this cartoon to read comments about it. 

Additional comment are always welcome on this blog.

It Doesn’t Feel Real

Where is the confetti? Where are the people dancing in the streets? 

Obama will be the next president–after Bush spends the next couple of months doing everything he can to finish off the to continue his destruction of our country in order to win favoritism with the oil giants–and it feels a bit anti-climactic. 

Josh, Joy and I sat around the computer monitor last night and watched Obama’s speech with tears of joy. Really, we all teared up.

This morning Josh and I wake up and wonder what the two candidates are doing. We bet John McCain is sleeping in and we wish we could too. We get up and go about our business. Josh reads election comments to me from the internet news while I make breakfast.

Now what?

(comments sincerely requested)

Shocking News!

It had been my personal goal to get my father to vote Obama, a seemingly impossible task. He is a vetran, life long republican and cousin of Tom Dorr, the Rural Development Under Secretary for the Bush administration for crying out loud!

In the last month we have been furiously sending emails back and forth full of links to articles and YouTube videos on the issues. He didn’t seem to be budging at all. Since getting my father to change his vote was my idea of “volunteering for the cause” I decided to donate money as my efforts were proving futile.

You make one small, and I mean very small, donation to a political campaign (I finally received my Obama magnet in the mail this weekend!) and suddenly they think you’ll do anything for them. Hello, I gave money because I don’t want to volunteer so quit call and sending me emails. Powell supports Obama but he’s not volunteering for the campaign and neither am I.

Then the other day, out of the blue, my father emails that he voted for Obama. What?! Really?! Are you kidding?!

After questioning him twice in dumbfounded disbelief this is what he said:

“I did vote for Obama, mainly because he will continue to fund veteran and healthcare programs better than McCain. It will continue to add to our national debt and unfortunately your generation and those that follow will suffer big time. The longer we go at accumulating debt, the more painful it will be.”

Now that both of my very conservative parents have mailed in their vote for Obama, my work is done. I’d like to say that I directly influenced them but I know better. They don’t have much influence over me and I don’t have much influence over them. It’s just the way it is in our family, at least that’s the way we play it.

Even the threat of moving to Canada was like threatening a child with candy if their room doesn’t get clean… my Pop would be the first to come visit. That threat could have been very effective on my mom, who hates the cold, but only if we would have had kids. 

I don’t know how my father reconciled the damnation of future generations but I’d like to think that my donation dollars indirectly helped to fund that message that won him over.

Since I now know that the Universe works in extraordinary and convoluted ways to help us reach our goals, if we want them badly enough, I’m going to start focusing on my next goal of getting this home remodeling construction completed before December 28… when the droves of in-laws show up. Hey, if my father voted Obama anything is possible!

Anything is possible!

Humpty Dumpty…

 Gumpy-Gene has adapted a few familiar nursery rhymes to suit the state of our Nation.  Grandmamama-Libby wrote them down and made  some corrections and improvements.  We hope y’all will have as much  fun reading them as we did composing them.

GUMPY-GENE’S 21st CENTURY NURSERY RHYMES (non-political)

1) Bye – Bye Big Bank,

Have you  any Cash?

No Sir, No Sir, we’re gonna Crash.

Give us a Billion Dollars

So we’ll start up again,

And then we’ll steal Your Money,

Like Honest Gentlemen.
 

2) All our Nest Eggs sat on a Wall.

All our Nest Eggs had a great Fall.

All the Fed’s Horses and all the Fed’s Men

Are ready to start up and do it again.
 

3) Old Missus Hubbard lived in a Shoe.

Her Loan Rate went up; she didn’t know what to do.

Her Lender came by,

Told her to get out.

And now she is Homeless and wanders about.
 

4) Freddie and Fannie

Climbed up a Hill

Made of Worthless Paper.

The Hill fell down

And ruined the Town.

We All came Tumbling after.

In Terror they fled

And ran to the Fed

As Fast as they could Caper.

Just Give us some Money

We’ll do something Funny,

The People will Pay for it Later.
 

GUMPY-GENE’S 21st CENTURY NURSERY RHYMES (political)

1) Georgie Porgie, Money and Oil,

Helps the Rich Guys keep their Spoil.

When the Poor Folk ask for their Share

Georgie Porgie isn’t There.
 

2) Little Bo Peep

Has abandoned her Sheep*

To go to the Big City.

And If she gets through,

Then for Me and for You

The Future will not be Pretty.       *(Caribou)
 

3) Old King McCain

Has Much to Explain.

He runs every Whichway

Like a Trackless Train.

He chases his Hat

Where the Winds Blow.

His Mind is inside it;

Where next will it go?

Does he know where he’s going?

Does he even Care?

He’ll puzzle it out

If he gets Anywhere.

Canadian Immigration

We love the new color of our house and the new light brought in by the skylights but if by chance McCain should sweep in and take the presidency we have solid intentions of moving to Canada.

So, I’ve been brushing up on being a Canadian with Paul Billington’s Guide, especially after reading the news article below. We’ll need to make sure we fit in and don’t look too conspicuously American. If you notice us being much more polite and Josh stops hugging his guy friends don’t worry, we are just practicing our Canadianness.

Maybe we forget the formalities and just say “eh” after every sentence, eh?

From the MANITOBA HERALD:

The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The possibility of a McCain/Palin election is prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they’ll soon be required to hunt and agree with Bill O’Reilly.

Canadian border farmers say it’s not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal rights activists, and Unitarians crossing their fields at night. “I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn,” said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota.  The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry.  “He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn’t have any, he left. Didn’t even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?”
 

In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. “Not real effective,” he said. “The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn’t give milk.”

Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves. “A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions,” an Ontario border patrolman said.  “I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though.”

When liberals are caught, they’re sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about the McCain administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to shoot wolves from airplanes, deny evolution, and act out drills preparing them for the Rapture.

In recent days, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers on Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney hits to prove they were alive in the ’50s. “If they can’t identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age,” an official said.
 
Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies.  “I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can’t support them,” an Ottawa resident said. “How many art-history and English majors does one country need?”

Presidential Hopeful No More

 

Tim Grauer for President!

My mom had told me she was going to write my father’s name in for president because she didn’t like either candidate.

The other day she calls me excitedly with the news that she received her ballot by mail and voted. And, after having watched the last presidential debate, she decided not to write my father’s name on the ballot. 

Sorry Pop. Maybe 2012 will be your year.

The good news is that my mom voted for Obama.

The “interesting” news is that she still likes Palin.

Let’s focus on the good news.