[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Whenever there is a controversial issue, all the right-wing pundits say exactly the same thing. Every one. We could probably recite it in chorus after the first paragraph. Can somebody come up with something new to say about this?

If the 77 percent statistic was for real, employers would be paying 30 percent more than they had to, every time they hired a man to do a job that a woman could do just as well. Would employers be such fools with their own money? If you think employers don't care about paying 30 percent more than they have to, just go ask your boss for a 30 percent raise!

I think that’s a bit different!

. . . and it puts me in mind of the “minimum wage” theory. Obviously what women need is a law requiring them to demand a 23% raise, and If they can’t get that high a pay, they have to quit.

</sarcasm>

[firebrand]

You have to hire the best person who comes along. No one in their right mind would ever do otherwise. That’s how for-profit businesses work. So sometimes you do pay whatever the person is demanding, just to get the right employee.