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A New Way to Close the Gender Pay Gap

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By Martha Burk / Common Dreams

Once again, Equal Pay Day is approaching. Never heard of it? If you’re a working woman or someone who cares about the working women in your life, you need to study up.

Equal Pay Day is the day in any given year when women working full-time, year-round catch up to men’s earnings from the previous year.

Let’s say the average man made $35,000 last year, from January 1 to December 31. The average woman working the same amount of time made $27,300. It will take her until April 4 of this year to amass the same earnings the guy made by the end of last year. So Equal Pay Day is April 4 this year.   [Read more…]

The Value of Equal Pay to the U.S. Economy

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By Kate Bahn / Center for American Progress

This year, Equal Pay Day falls on April 4. This means that the average woman had to work from the start of 2016 through April 4, 2017 to earn as much as an average man did in 2016 alone. Put another way, women currently earn 80 cents for each dollar that men earn.

As a result of these factors and others, women can lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in earnings over the course of their careers. But it isn’t just women’s individual bottom lines that suffer: The gender wage gap is also a drag on the U.S. economy, and closing the gap should be a top priority of any economic policy agenda that seeks to strengthen and grow the economy. In fact, comparing it to the current top priority of the GOP—tax cuts for the wealthy—equal pay would put twice as much income back into our economy as their current proposed tax cuts.   [Read more…]

Why is Dianne Feinstein and 15 Other Senators Still Undecided about Filibustering Neil Gorsuch?

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“Any Democrat selling out by rubber-stamping Trump’s takeover of the Supreme Court should expect to hear from their constituents loud and clear”

By Deidre Fulton / Common Dreams

Fifteen Democrats (and one Independent) remain undecided on whether to filibuster Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court, according to one news outlet’s recent count.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on President Donald Trump’s nominee on Monday, April 3; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said that a vote to confirm Gorsuch will take place on the Senate floor on Friday, April 7. The Senate goes on a two-week recess after that.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called for a filibuster, which would force Republicans to win 60 votes for Gorsuch’s nomination. Thirty Democrats (including Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont) have said they’ll support the filibuster.   [Read more…]

Puny Leadership: San Diego’s Soccer City Conundrum

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About a week ago I commented on how close our hometown elected officials are to us constituents. And I noticed that these individuals are not equipped to resolve many of the city’s complex problems. Despite neighborhood planning workshops on local projects, despite city council hearings about city-wide problems, despite appointed committees doing technical work, despite nonprofits and volunteer agencies picking up the slack, despite the mayor’s scripted platitudes – we’re still left trying to penetrate a sea of silence and blank stares.

After last Monday’s marathon homelessness council session we’re still dangling. Who’s in charge? Who’s responsible? Who’s answerable? Who’s identifiable? Who’s voice can we count on? Who will move our city beyond bandaids? Where does the buck stop? Does that sainted buck even exist?   [Read more…]

Citing FBI Probe of Trump, Democrats Told to ‘Declare National Emergency’

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‘The Democratic leadership in the House and Senate,’ says filmmaker Michael Moore, ‘needs to bring a halt to all business being done in the name of this potential felony suspect, Donald J. Trump.’

By Jon Queally / Common Dreams

Documentary filmmaker and political activist Michael Moore on Wednesday said it’s time for the Democratic Party in Congress to “declare a National Emergency” and put a stop to all legislative activity—including the confirmation process of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch—until the FBI completes its investigation into possible ties between members of President Donald Trump’s campaign and alleged interference by the Russian government in last year’s U.S. election.   [Read more…]

Carlsbad Leaders Use Alternative Facts to Bring in ‘Big Brother’ Stationary Cameras

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Fifty-one stationary cameras, in 14 locations, together with six mobile devices added to the ones already installed on two police cars, will soon capture the license plate numbers of all cars passing through the Carlsbad. They’ll be submitted to a national database that tracks stolen vehicles and those involved in crimes.

At its March 14 meeting, on a 4 to 1 vote, the Carlsbad city Council approved the $802,000 plan to conduct surveillance of residents and non-residents alike.

The justification for placing everyone under suspicion until they’re cleared in cyberspace was driven by a misleading police report on the city’s crime rate. Only newly-elected Councilmember Cori Schumacher challenged the numbers and the threat to privacy rights.   [Read more…]

Midway Planning Group Hosting Beach Community Planners Discussion About Homelessness in April

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By Geoff Page / OB Rag

The Midway Planning Group is devoting its entire April monthly meeting to an in depth discussion of one subject – homelessness. Councilmember Lorie Zapf has committed to attend as has Stacie Spector, the mayor’s “homeless czar.” The group had not yet settled on a venue as of its March 15 regular monthly meeting.

The Midway planners are attempting to find a place for the discussion that will accommodate an expected large group of people. The Peninsula, Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, and Mission Beach planning groups are being invited to the discussion. The homeless population in the Midway area and the problems that it causes is a major concern for the mostly business oriented members of the group. Information on the meeting site will be provided in the coming weeks.   [Read more…]

The Insidious Effect on the Pysche of Trump’s Torrent of Lies

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Research shows that repeating a lie, even to refute it, imprints it on our brain

By Neil Baron / AlterNet

There’s a problem with the media’s repetitive refutation of Donald Trump’s lies: It makes them more credible. Research finds that repeating a lie, even to refute it, imprints it on our brains, and they become more memorable than the refutations.   [Read more…]

Jig Up for Duncan Hunter This Week?

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By Dweisman / Escondido Grapevine

House Ethics Committee scheduled to consider Hunter financial affairs Wednesday

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-50th District) and his use of campaign funds for personal expenses is scheduled to come under review from the House Committee on Ethics at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 22. The committee announced the meeting in a Website posting Friday.

However, before one gets too excited, consider that the committee previously set meetings for March 9 and March 13, only to postpone them each time.
  [Read more…]

Should We Pay the Rich to Build Infrastructure, Then Pay Them to Use It?

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By Dave Johnson / People’s Action Blog

It’s starting to look like President Trump’s promised $1-trillion plan to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure will be as bad for us as his health care plan turned out to be.

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has issued their 2017 Infrastructure Report Card. We didn’t do so well. Our “grade” is a miserable D+. Why? Go outside and look around at our out-of-date and crumbling roads, bridges, dams, airports, water systems, and electrical grid.   [Read more…]

County Employees Seek Community Input in Labor Talks

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This week (Wednesday, March 15), unions and community groups will appear before the County Board of Supervisors to urge them to begin negotiations on a new labor agreement.

What would normally be a matter of negotiating pay and benefits for 10,000 San Diego County employees has become another front in the battle for social justice, thanks to a strategy called ‘bargaining for the common good’ adopted by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) local 221.

The SEIU has invited representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Policy Initiatives, the Community Advocacy Network and other groups to join them at the bargaining table and participate in negotiations.   [Read more…]

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