The Republican party's war on women continues. A video surfaced today of Todd Akin, infamous for his comments on legitimate rape, stating his belief that free enterprise means you should be able to pay women less.
When an attendee to a town hall meeting pointed out his vote against The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and asked him why he thinks it's OK to pay women less, Akin said, "Well, first of all, the premise of your question is that I’m making that particular distinction. I believe in free enterprise. I don’t think the government should be telling people what you pay and what you don’t pay. I think it’s about freedom. If somebody what’s to hire someone and they agree on a salary, that’s fine, however it wants to work. So, the government sticking its nose into all kinds of things has gotten us into huge trouble."
Ok Mr. Akin what's good for women is good for Congress too. How about a 50 percent pay cut for all of Congress. After all, they are extremely overpaid for the amount of work they actually do, they spend more time on vacation than on the job. Their benefits are worth far more than the average worker, so let's cut that entitlement right here and now shall we???
What's that you say??? Oh, Congress isn't "the free market" right?? So easy to bloviate about something that you know won't affect YOU and YOURS right?
Pat, Grand Lake Co
9/30/2012 9:05:05 AM
Ron, Rob, I have several friends who are former employees of UPS. All have some kind of terrible back or knee problem. The pace is rough and the work is physical and if you get a small twinge, you just take some iboprofen and keep chugging. By the time you report it, you have a real problem and, surprise, UPS doesn't like you any more. Two of my friends have no health insurance so they suffer but are addicted to pain pills.
Lower pay for women? Like Harold said, let's just lower everyone's pay, then everyone will be equal and poor. It's the teabagger way!
TAX THE RICH.. my way!
ron mariposa
9/29/2012 4:29:59 PM
Rob my dad started in WWII while waiting to go, but the government defered him because ups was a big mover of war materials. The old guard of the company who said to all of them stay with us and you will retire with us. Then after the war the new powers came in and as you said they ran your fanny into ground and did time checks and more. My dad never was in that end when he went to management he was in customer relations and he loved working with the customers. He did say the guys who ran the company were slave drivers who didnt give a damn about anything but their pay checks and moving up in the company. Did you ever notice most of the guys were young and as they got older they were GONE.. This is how many corporations were and what they have become as greed and I got mine is the name of game now. I wonder how these jerks sleep at night.
ron mariposa
9/29/2012 1:31:19 PM
I would like to add like some others have that the union busting right has no plans to bust the nfl refs union, the nfl players union as these are their guys. They are willing to bust the unions of public workers who most likely work either a life time or years to make one of these so called professionals get in one season. I dont mind workers public or private standing up and becoming union, but the double standard of these rightwingers would laughable if it didnt hurt so many good working men and women in the public and private sector.. I was union and a steward most of my life and saw the need for the union in protecting workers from the abuses of management. The right wingers complain about the evil unions, but they sure love the continued benefits like 40hours, paid overtime, sick leave, paid vacations, and much more benefits for men and women who work each day. If these clowns win these hard won benefits will go away and then I will just sit back and say to the rightwingers we told you this would happen now live with you choices and stop complaining and crying about you new life.
just my humble views
Rob, Oregon
9/29/2012 1:23:52 PM
ron, I drove for UPS for over 8 years. All I got out of it was knee surgery. Within a decade, all 8 people I was hired with had surgery at one time or another! A very successful company, I'll give them that, but Gestapo like working conditions. You go management with them, they own you. I just got out and moved on. Driving for them will beat you up bad. Me and a few other radicals that never got our lunch or breaks used to sit in a coffee shop for over an hour after shift to make sure we got paid for it. They had their little spys time us to make sure we weren't "robbing time" from them. We'd look at our watches and say, well lunch is over loud enough for them to hear on the way out the door. This was like 6:30 PM. Ah, the good old days.
ron mariposa
9/29/2012 12:44:25 PM
Yes tell women to have a probe inserted into their body, but the government cant deny the freedom of a boss to pay less because the worker is a woman. I believe these people have no clue of what freedom is and the fairness that it should bring. They just think the women and men in the work place that get up each day and work their fannies off as a somebody that should be used and when no longer needed to be thrown out. I saw this in my family as my dad was fired after 32 years of service with UPS because he was getting older and was in a lower management job that he took so he could get out of the trucks becuase of his age. UPS wanted to get rid of men like my dad as the feds said 5 years you are vested in the company pension, and you cant be fire due to age. 14 men including my dad fired after all got a outstanding review 3 months before. This is what men and women like this guy want use people, burn them out, thrown them out like trash, and leave them with no pension or health care as most of these people are in the age group that cant get social security or medicare and most likely a good paying job. The laws against wages, against age, and against labor abuse will be over turned if the people like him take over. What ticks me off is the idiots who are 8 to 5 ers who will vote for people like this becasue of hate. I guess HATE is a stronger emotion that common sense.
just my humble views
Bob Bobonde, Minto ND.
9/29/2012 12:08:12 PM
Remember women, republicans think corporations are people......and you're not!
Linda S Houston
9/29/2012 11:07:49 AM
Try telling that bull puckey to the NFL refs. Amazing how the GOP does a 180 after a football game in which their favorite team lost because of a bad call. All of a sudden what the union wants is actually valid.
These idiots make me nauseous. They are for screwing the middle class unless somehow it edges over into their personal lives. Then all bets are off.
If I were a woman in that audience I would have gotten up and left the room.
Rob, Oregon
9/29/2012 10:33:16 AM
"Free enterprise" to these a-holes always means low wages.The only freedom they cherish is the freedom of big busine$$ to pay you 1950's wages in 2012. They just love the word freedom don't they?The repub 'job creator' nirvana is how little can I pay you before you look for another job? Akin is like Santorum. They come right out with how the righties really feel much to the chagrin of the party. Keep talking Todd. Your the lefts best pal.
John, Los Angeles
9/28/2012 10:43:01 PM
This turkey doesn't believe in the government intervening in business but has no problem in having the government tell women what to do in their private lives. Go figure!
