1. For this week’s Brookline TAB, we look at the pay gap between working men and women. While some report that discrimination remains intact, others say women just don’t care about being paid the same as men for doing the same work as long as they get magic beans or some other benefit. Or, as the people at the Heritage Foundation’s “Foundry” blog put it: A 2009 study commissioned by the Department of Labor found that after controlling for occupation, experience, and other choices, women earn 95 percent as much as men do. In 2005, June O’Neil, the former director of the Congressional Budget Office, found that “There is no gender gap in wages among men and women with similar family roles.” Different choices—not discrimination—account for different employment and wage outcomes. For the same reason, the recession has hit men harder than it has women. Since the recession, net employment for men has fallen by over 3 million jobs. Female employment has fallen by less than half that amount. Put another way, the male unemployment rate is currently 0.5 percentage points higher than the female unemployment rate. The take away: Women almost-but-not-quite make the same amount as men, if you artificially inflate their pay, and a recession is more likely to hurt if you have a penis. (I think Adam Smith has a whole chapter on the economic importance of dicks in his book, btw.) Also, I’m sure this statistic on sexual harassment plays no role whatsoever in this issue.

    For this week’s Brookline TAB, we look at the pay gap between working men and women. While some report that discrimination remains intact, others say women just don’t care about being paid the same as men for doing the same work as long as they get magic beans or some other benefit.

    Or, as the people at the Heritage Foundation’s “Foundry” blog put it:

    A 2009 study commissioned by the Department of Labor found that after controlling for occupation, experience, and other choices, women earn 95 percent as much as men do. In 2005, June O’Neil, the former director of the Congressional Budget Office, found that “There is no gender gap in wages among men and women with similar family roles.” Different choices—not discrimination—account for different employment and wage outcomes.

    For the same reason, the recession has hit men harder than it has women. Since the recession, net employment for men has fallen by over 3 million jobs. Female employment has fallen by less than half that amount. Put another way, the male unemployment rate is currently 0.5 percentage points higher than the female unemployment rate.

    The take away: Women almost-but-not-quite make the same amount as men, if you artificially inflate their pay, and a recession is more likely to hurt if you have a penis. (I think Adam Smith has a whole chapter on the economic importance of dicks in his book, btw.)

    Also, I’m sure this statistic on sexual harassment plays no role whatsoever in this issue.

  3. Hero for the 99%: Muppet: “Oh, look, up in the sky. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…” Super Grover [in flight]: “AhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—”  *crash* Super Grover: “It’s, uh, Super Grover.” Muppet [crying]: “Oh, rats.” 

    Hero for the 99%:

    Muppet: “Oh, look, up in the sky. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…”

    Super Grover [in flight]: “AhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—” 

    *crash*

    Super Grover: “It’s, uh, Super Grover.”

    Muppet [crying]: “Oh, rats.” 

  4. Ouch.

    Ouch.