I know that bills like HB-705, the one about to be voted down by the Louisiana legislature that would acknowledge the fact that women make less than men and remedy the situation, have come around before. Obviously, in Louisiana, such bills have not passed. So I emailed my state rep this morning, and suggested that he vote for the bill. Only, my state rep is the understudy to Nick Lorusso, who happened to be an Army reservist and happened to get called to active duty and, as such, is not on active legislative duty. I wish Lorusso wasn't gone for this equal pay bill. This is the guy who, on his way out last fall, tried to change the law so that he could return to his seat in the House, citing potential financial hardship as the reason. As the author of the editorial linked above points out, Lorusso's effort to change the law clearly represents a simple effort to retain power and and as little to do with money, but embedded in such a cynical attempt is surely a sincere desire to effect real change in the world. This is clearly a man who can see the wisdom in changing the status quo to benefit people who suffer under current conditions.
The Times Picayune doesn't appear to be interested in HB-705, but they are interested in how a Baton Rouge legislator sneaked a provision into an unrelated bill that would allow the state to take stimulus money for jobless benefits, something Bobby Jindal said he'd oppose. With unemployment rising across the country and in Louisiana, the timing of asking that women make the same pay as men for the same work is ironic at best.
The employment situation in Louisiana is dire. Every state institution has a hiring freeze in place. Many private entities are following that lead and enacting freezes of their own. I tried to quit school and get a job this fall. I couldn't find a "professional position" in New Orleans that didn't require me to have a paralegal certification (which I intend to get right after I defend my dissertation so I can work in this godforsaken town). All this to say: I sure hope things get better, but with cuts to higher education and health care dominating this year's budget slashing, my future in this state may be limited. Making pay equal to a man's only matters if there is a way to earn a check.
Maybe we can combine these two bills and ask for equal jobless benefits for equal non-work.
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