US Politics Mega-thread - Page 8137

On July 20 2017 21:03 Kevin_Sorbo wrote:


Considering what the guy went through and the amount of abuse his body has taken it isnt THAT surprising. Still very sad. Best of luck to this real american hero.

On July 20 2017 21:29 Kickboxer wrote:
One reason men are paid more is that the top end of the professional range for most of the highest paid occupations, meaning working 10 hours a day 6 days a week in banking, law, stock exchange, surgery, management, gambling, programing etc. is almost exclusively occupied by men - since men are, in general, the only ones crazy enough to live like that.

It's not a knock on women, the question is rather why anyone would be willing to sacrifice their complete intimate life for career and status. When it comes to these kinds of humans, the ration between men and women is totally broken and doesn't seem to be changing. Likely connected to motherhood on the one hand and testosterone on the other.

Another reason is men take all the dangerous occupations, and all those that require peak physical performance. Many are well compensated. For example, male sportsmen earn an extra zero on their contract since they bring in ten times as many viewers. Which only makes sense.

How to address these?

On July 20 2017 21:29 Kickboxer wrote:
One reason men are paid more is that the top end of the professional range for most of the highest paid occupations, meaning working 10 hours a day 6 days a week in banking, law, stock exchange, surgery, management, gambling, programing etc. is almost exclusively occupied by men - since men are, in general, the only ones crazy enough to live like that.

It's not a knock on women, the question is rather why anyone would be willing to sacrifice their complete intimate life for career and status. When it comes to these kinds of humans, the ration between men and women is totally broken and doesn't seem to be changing. Likely connected to motherhood on the one hand and testosterone on the other.

Another reason is men take all the dangerous occupations, and all those that require peak physical performance. Many are well compensated. For example, male sportsmen earn an extra zero on their contract since they bring in ten times as many viewers. Which only makes sense.

How to address these?

On July 20 2017 17:03 Falling wrote:

Well, no it isn't. That's clearly an attitude that will hopefully change over time.
edit
That's a choice a woman can make in the modern era, and a choice she should be able to make. But equally, any woman that decides, voluntarily, because they want to stay at home for extended periods of time to care for her new family, shouldn't be seen as messing up the gender distribution that otherwise- that they are being chased out of the workforce due to socialization and societal expectation. If they want to go back to work right away and the family can find a reasonable way to take care of the children, all power to them. And if one of the parents wants to cut back on work to care for the children, all power to them. The concern and indeed preoccupation for equal distribution across all jobs to some extent makes paid work the pinnacle of fulfillment and necessarily denigrates child rearing to being something rather lesser- that is something is wrong with society if one gender or the other on average must or is forced to cut back on their career. (Notice my emphasized words which betrays a certain view.) Seeing child rearing as an obligation and an obstruction to a career is a fairly low view of family in comparison to career. And I mean this for men and women. ...I don't know. I'm musing as I'm typing as I'm struggling to articulate what I'm seeing in society.
/end edit

But anyways, notice we aren't actually talking about a wage gap anymore. What we are actually talking about is desirable distribution by occupation. That's a very different thing and something that .7 to the dollar doesn't really touch. It's a distractor. (Insofar that it isn't true when comparing like occupation and like experience- if two teachers of equal training and experience are getting paid differently based upon gender, that is illegal and should be stopped immediately.)

I mean, it's certainly worth finding out if women are entering and exiting their occupation by choice or if they are getting blocked by the patriarchy. But it's not quite so simple because couples are making decisions on what makes sense for them as a family. It might not line up with a neat and tidy equal distribution in every occupation from garbage truck drivers to nurses... or maybe it might. But I think too often this discussion thinks too big picture- systems- and precludes the actual individuals, their agency, that are making decisions based on their hopes, dreams, and limitations.

On July 20 2017 21:41 PoulsenB wrote:

The wage gap relates to situations where a woman earns less than a man on the same position (e.g. two employees in the same company doing the same job, but a woman earns less than a man). Gender ratio disproportions in employment for different occupations are another thing altogether.

On July 20 2017 21:44 LegalLord wrote:
I think the incompetence of the Republicans bought Obamacare a 1-3 year extended lease on life.

"And I can tell you, we hope John McCain gets better very soon. Because we miss him. He is a crusty voice in Washington...Plus, we need his vote."

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, his office said Wednesday, throwing into doubt when and if he will return to Washington to resume his duties in the Senate.

On July 20 2017 22:12 LegalLord wrote:

It's also an unstable stopgap solution that doesn't really solve the bigger price issues, it just takes better care of the most vulnerable. It's much better than the Republican solution and it's better than nothing but it won't last forever.

Of course, UHC is the best viable alternative, so meh.