wage gap

Scott Brown – the Republican ex-Senator from Massachusetts now running in New Hampshire – stumbled on the campaign trail when asked about the wage gap between genders.

Like many places across the country, there is mismatch between the average rent and a worker's income in the Green Mountain State. You might not be surprised to learn that a recent report demonstrates, once again, that Vermont is one of the hardest places to afford housing. Without rent control in place, some legislators are looking at a minimum wage increase and sick leave guarantees to help balance the equation.

New numbers released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that there were 3.8 million job openings in April of 2013. Yet, the unemployment rate was at 7.5 percent that same month. This disparity is often attributed to a “skills gap,” something which suggests companies are hiring but American workers are not qualified for the open positions. The New York Times, however, isn’t so sure.

The deficit is now down 60 percent as a percent of gross domestic product. It is down more than deficit hawks Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles asked for. This rapid reduction is seriously hurting the economy and jobs, but demands for cuts continue. It is time for Congress and the President to “pivot” to focusing on our real problems: the jobs gap, the wage gap and the trade gap.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women earn 81 percent of what men do. Their wealth—assets like homes and savings minus debt—is half men’s, when neither are living with partners or over age 64. As the CBS article points out, women make up 17 percent of Congress and run only 18 of the Fortune 500 companies (that’s 3.6 percent). The higher you look on the ladder of financial well-being and power, the greater the inequality gets.
So as billionaires provide more of the money in politics, it stands to reason that the proportion of dollars with women behind them will shrink. The Center for Responsive Politics just provides evidence to support the logic. A similar breakdown of which donors are white, black, or Latino, would surely find the white/black and white/Latino wealth gaps likewise reflected in political giving.