To expand on what seems to be only a woman's issue in America, the equal pay rights and equal pay laws for women aren’t just for females. They are for families. And men are a part of those families. Therefore, it is important for both, men and women, to appreciate and become aware of these laws so they can protect those rights, as the rights of women is to increase the livelihoods of both male and female as they work together on behalf of providing for their children and grandchildren or nieces and nephews.

The Lilly Ledbetter Act of 2009 gives a female an opportunity to file charges of discriminatory wages at anytime during her employment. Before 2009, if a female had discovered she was paid differently than her male counterpart doing the same job and for more money, under law the female could not recoup any wage discrepancies because the law had stated she must file those discrepancies within 180 days of her hire date, so as in the case of Lilly Ledbetter vs Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. (2007), Lilly did not find out until years later that she was paid at a lower wage from her male counterparts and when she took the company to court, according to the 'then' present law, it was her fault that she did not know she was discriminated against. The new 2009 law then will see to it that, “the statute of limitations runs from the date of the actual payment of a discriminatory wage, not just from the time of hiring.”

The Lilly Ledbetter Act of 2009 was a key element discussed during the 2012 Presidential Debate at Hofstra University in New York in regards to the young lady’s question about equal pay for women in the workforce. President Obama signed the law in 2009, and only four republicans had voted for the law. Romney didn’t say he was for or against the law, just that he had gone out to find women to serve on his cabinet while he was governor of Massachusettes, which implies people will do the right thing and hire women and just give them equal pay.

Unfortunately, the pattern of history, business, and law makers concerning women in the United States have all been about giving as less to a female in regards to pay, rights, and healthcare. So as citizens of this great nation we cannot expect people “to do the right thing,” because if history has taught us anything, “most people will not do the right thing, especially when they can get away with not doing the right thing.” And if the laws continue aiding and abetting those who intend to reap more for themselves and less for others, then America will continue to have poverty, violence, and ignorance.

Culture has played a consistent role in the slow progress of women having upward financial mobility in America. Slowly, women have become privvy to marketing strategies to help increase customers for their businesses, and it's mostly due to men sharing ideas with women. It wasn’t until 1974 that credit opportunities were extended to a woman without the signature of her husband or father, providing that she had a job and could qualify. It wasn’t until 1968 when business were prohibited from advertising positions indicating they were looking to hire men only.

When raising a family, men often feel just as trapped as women in having to be the sole provider of a family. The laws are to help both sexes, not pit one against the other; but tradition often taunts the thoughts of men against the freedoms of women, and the thoughts of women against men when men don’t earn enough to cover the expenses of a family. If men and women can work to build one another up and provide for a family, our world could be a better place to live.

So it is important for husbands and fathers to know the rights that are put in place for their wife and daughters. Females aught not to have to "go it alone," when it comes to getting their fair share of the pie. Men, should then help the females in his life to bust through that flimsy film of inequality that besets his female family members because men want to live well, too. If his wife isn’t earning what she is entitled to, then his life is just as hard as hers. If his daughter isn’t earning what she is entitled to, then when her father gets old, she won’t be able to take care of him like she would want to.

Unequal pay hurts families, and Obama expressed this very thought yesterday during the debate. He is about doing something more to make a real difference in the lives of Americans, not the same ol, same ol hardships that Romney is proposing.

No "Scratch and Start All Over" Approach

During the Vice Presidential Debate, I had the pleasure of seeing the gentle well-composed man of Paul Ryan. I have to admit, I hadn’t taken opportunities until the debate at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky to hear Mr. Ryan speak. From my discipline of being able to suspend all prejudices of a person so that I can actually hear their actual words, I did so and found much gratification in Biden’s interjections to put facts to topics not mentioned by Ryan.

The 5-point plan was mentioned again by Ryan, so I made the effort to search it out on the web. In three tries, I finally tapped into the right website that laid out the plan, (aside from the website that indicated a 5-point plan, but I had trouble sorting it out through Romney’s swim trunks and the secret steering committee that came together to seemingly put the plan together while he was swimming elsewhere in the U.S.)

The 5 point plan sounds well thought out, and again specifics for each point needs to be elaborated upon, so I have them listed here with comments or questions by each point. You may want to raise your own comments and questions.

1. building energy independence (The U.S. is already doing this through alternative energy: wind and solar, and we will always need coal and electricity. Coal jobs are not in jeopardy.)

2. ensuring Americans have the skills to succeed (If education loans and grants are cut, AND Sesame Street, how will this be accomplished?)

3. opening markets that work for America (HOW? For each suggestion under this point.)

4. cutting the deficit (How can you do this without cutting services to the poor and homeowners?)

5. championing small businesses (Small business owners are counted as individuals—any other way would complicate matters. No unions? How is that going to put more money in a laborer’s pocket? Without unions, businesses will be able to work people for very little and they will continue cutting full-time employment so they will not have to attend to the labor laws and benefits for employees. Even with a state-wide insurance mandate, everyone will still be required to buy health insurance.)

The debate was well moderated, and the candidates minded their P’s and Q’s. They were very respectful to the moderator and to one another. On abortion, Joe Biden will not impose his personal Catholic views on any other American. Two Supreme Court Justices are to be sworn in the next 4 years, he added. Paul Ryan cannot separate his personal -faith from his professional, and was leery when asked the question if the Romney-Ryan ticket won the race should those who are pro-choice be worried.

If the Romney-Ryan ticket wins the race, then we should expect Medicare to become a Voucher plan and future seniors would have to pay more out of pocket costs. Social Security will be privatized, but those 55 and above will not be affected. So, what about those 54, 53, 52, 51, 50? Who are out of work since 2009, 2010? What kind of Social Security will they have saved to privatize? Are people starting at zero or will they get all that they have already put in to Social Security? These programs under Obama and Biden will be guaranteed services as originally promised to all. Biden went on to say that if people had had their Social Security money in the stock market during the recession, millions would have lost it all. It is too risky to gamble a person’s retirement away.

On taxes, Biden says there will be a tax increase for those making one million dollars and more. Level the playing field for middle class. Let the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire. Ryan says: “the 120,000 millionaires/billionaires’ taxes cannot pay for everything they want to pay for.”

On foreign affairs, in 2014 the timeline end for US troops to withdraw completely from Afghanistan. Afghans must sustain their own country and US troops are training them to do so. America is informed that Iran isn’t as close to a nuclear bomb as we were led to believe from Israeli President during the UN meeting that took place last month in New York.

The debate informed Americans of President Obama’s consistent message of moving forward and of Romney’s, “scratch” everything and start all over approach. The last thing America needs is a “start all over” approach. We have come too far to start all over again. We are going in the right direction if the politicians and special interest groups will just let us get back to work.

The Race for President 2012

How do I see the Denver, Colorado debate between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama? To sum it up, when a dog begins to bark, sometimes you just got to let him bark. Romney took to the fence and barked his head off, so much that viewers actually witnessed him turning pale at times like his neck tie was too tight, and then turning red like he was going to have a heart attack any minute. I like what Herb Cohen explains in his book, Negotiate This! when it comes to those types of people who see others who start out in a negotiation/conversation/discussion/debate being nice as a weakness. Those

’rat for tat’… operators…are [more] likely to behold your decency as a weakness and lick their chops. This minority tends to observe a soft style and easygoing attitude as a bull notices a red cape. What usually happens with these dog-eat-dog types that they charge, trying to wrap things up quickly. Often they become hostile and confrontational and use all sorts of tactical ploys…But…the countermeasures for any adversarial gambit are to slow down and not to react the way they expect you to…Flow [instead of] fight or freeze…(88-89).

Obama flowed. His message was consistent with what he had said from the very beginning, and because his message is simple regular people can recite it: tax the wealthiest at a higher rate, penalize American companies for taking their companies overseas, continue with Obamacare, invest in education, continue with coal industry [for we know we will still need coal to fuel electric plants], but invest in environmentally safe energy such as, wind and solar power.

Romney on the other hand, didn’t stop talking. He ate up air time and taking turns when it wasn’t even his turn to speak. He began and had the last word in 85% of the questions. I do believe he was trying to get Obama riled up.

Romney talks about states taking over Nat’l Health Care. Tennessee tried that, and many were cut from the roles when the state could no longer afford the health care costs. The reason health care costs over exceeded Tennessee’s ability to cover the non-insured were two-fold: 1) cuts in federal monies to the state to cover the cost, and 2) there was no mandate requiring all Tennesseans to carry health insurance.

Massachusetts, on the other hand, did implement a state-wide insurance program that required all state residents to buy health insurance. Two state public options were given in addition to the multiple private insurance company options. Ninety-eight percent of the residents were insured, which made for a successful implementation of government-mandated health insurance.

So why is Romney against Obamacare? Is he being wrangled by the Republican party’s agenda?

Another federal program on the republican chopping block is food stamps. When it comes to feeding the poor, shouldn’t states be held accountable by the federal government to make sure the poor are getting their fair share of food? And how are the states going to fund such an extensive program? Nuns on a bus traveled across 9 states and met on the steps of Congress to protest Paul Ryan’s cuts to programs that would leave those marginalized hungry, cold, and homeless. The lead nun said that every church across the nation would have to raise $50,000 extra each year just to accommodate the poor, and that amount was unrealistic.

The Republican party wants to privatize social security and defund Medicaid and Medicare, which will become state-governed programs, so there will be 50 different social security options and 50 different health insurance options as a citizen moves from one state to the next. Consistency will be null and void, and who is to say that accountability will be checked?

Selfishness and individualism are consistent themes with the Republican agenda, so Americans should get the hint that they will be left out in the dark not knowing if they will have adequate health insurance coverage since each state will separately negotiate for public options. And how easy is it going to move from one state to the next with such differences in health coverage and social security options? Programs such as these and many more will be shattered, and from the shards, we should wonder if the United States will continue to be a union or will each state be its own separate country? The choice is ours, will we give our country to the dogs or will we pull away from the fence by taxing the 1% and building products “Made in the U.S.A.,” by which, will keep a strong union that takes care of its citizens?