Fake remedies to phony problems
Lately, I only listen to radio when I am driving alone. A short drive yesterday (January 29th 2016) gave me two news items:
Obama unveils his new equal pay plan and a filler piece about the challenges of the Trudeau’s climate change commitments. The later subject was prompted by two news items of its own: some comments from a conservative MP a day prior and a report tabled by the federal commissioner of the environment and sustainable development on the National Energy Board.
I don’t want to waste time on the issues themselves, but I will sum up the reasonable position for which you can find ample evidence in the links at the end of this post.
The gender inequality in salaries is less then 2 percent according to several independent studies. There is NO WAGE GAP. What makes the difference in the overall income levels is the type of jobs women chose (compared to men) and the amount of time and effort they dedicate to it.
Anthropogenic global warming is not a problem and even if it was, Canada’s contribution to it is less than negligible. Crude from the oil-sands is not ‘dirty’ and using pipelines is by far the safest, cleanest and most environment-friendly way to transport it.
I don’t want to waste more time on the issues themselves because the issues are not the issue. In both cases, the phony problems have the same functions: to polarize the debate and public opinion to strengthen political support for their parties and to provide an excuse to increase the scope and the power of government.
Obama’s plan will not change reality. Women will not work longer hours, chose different professions or spend less time with their children.
The real change the Obama plan will create is in the level of control government agencies can have over businesses. The whole plan is just another shake-down tool that can be applied selectively to clobber political opponents with. Since the Obama plan has nothing to do with reality, it will not change the perception of reality either, which I suggest, is part of the design. The perception of discrimination has to be maintained for the tool to be of any use. If you listen to the speech, you should also notice the scope of this expanded government control. Gender is only third after race and ethnicity. Collecting this information is just a short step away from the system where the government will tell every business how many people they should employ, who should those people be and how much they should be paid, REGARDLESS of their knowledge, attitude and experience.
This is all very similar to the Trudeau plan. The 30% reduction commitment he made in Paris is ridiculous, not just ridiculously pointless. It cannot be met and will not be met, but here again as before, that is not the point. The point is to control the West, to implement irreversible policies and to create a most powerful ‘revenue tool’. Controlling Alberta’s access to the markets is a powerful tool in the hands of the federal government. That is the point. Trudeau has about as much concern about the environment as Obama does for pay equity. They are policies to grab power and to placate their political base.
It could be argued, in both cases, that the policies will only make matters worse. It will, for example, make it harder for women returning to work after a long brake to find jobs in Obama’s case; it will increase the likelihood of environmental damage (through transportation accidents) in the case of Trudeau.
The issues are not the issues. In politics, they very seldom are.
They are just phantom remedies to phony problems under a very thin veil of naked political partisanship.
If you wish to learn more about these problems, check the following links:
Obama's Equal pay:
Understand the Basics - The White House Obama Moves to Expand Rules Aimed at Closing Gender Pay Gap - The New York Times FACT SHEET- New Steps to Advance Equal Pay on the Seventh Anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act - whitehouse.gov President Obama unveils his new equal pay plan - YouTube and the full version: President Obama Speaks on Advancing Equal Pay - YouTube
Some critical positions: Gender Pay Gap a Myth - Coyote Blog Young, Single Women Earn More Than Male Peers - WSJ Walter Block on Sexual Discrimination & the Pay Gap(Uncut) - YouTube Do Women Earn Less than Men- - Learn Liberty - YouTube Pay equity reality check- 'Wage gap' is a myth - YouTube Ep 55- Hollywood Hypocrisy and Gender Pay Gap Fiction - YouTube
On Justin's promise and the fallout of his policies (if you can call them that): Candice Bergen, Tory MP, Accuses Liberals Of Sidelining Scientists In New Pipeline Review Process Trudeau's Arrival Marks New Era On Climate Change, Energy- EU How to eat a low-carbon, environmentally-friendly diet - Kitchener-Waterloo - CBC News National Energy Board needs to fix pipeline oversight, watchdog says - Politics - CBC News Rick Mercer rants to Montreal's Denis Coderre, saying Energy East is needed - Calgary - CBC News Cut Them Off - The Rebel SPECIAL EPISODE- 10 facts about oil and gas Justin Trudeau doesn't know -- and the Media Party won't tell you - The Rebel 2015 GWPF Annual Lecture - Patrick Moore - 'Should We Celebrate Carbon Dioxide-' - YouTube
My summary of the issue with many embedded references: What do I know- - Freedom quest of Zork (the) Hun What will it take to convince me- - Freedom quest of Zork (the) Hun The politics of Global warming - Freedom quest of Zork (the) Hun