The
GOP isn't just taking aim at reproductive rights — it's after our very economic
survival.
By Martha Burk
We heard a lot about the “war on women” during the 2012 election
cycle — mostly over Republican attacks on abortion rights and birth control.
While the phrase has faded in this election year go-round, the
war on women has not.
The only change is that now we’re fighting on two fronts
— reproductive rights and economic survival.
To a man, the three final Republicans in the nomination race
oppose abortion rights and we are now left with Donald Trump, the most misogynistic of them all.
The formerly pro-choice Trump is now not only against abortion,
but blurted out recently what others undoubtedly believe but are too dishonest
to say out loud — that the government should punish the women who have abortions. And probably
the girls, too.
While reproductive rights are fundamental to women’s well-being
and autonomy, the right to fair pay and benefits is no less so.
The legal base pay for tipped workers lags even further behind —
it’s been a measly $2.13 since 1991.
Women make up 70 percent of tipped servers, and most of them don’t work
in those high-dollar, white-tablecloth restaurants. They’re working in
low-level hash houses and places like Denny’s and Red Lobster.
A Census report last year showed that the poverty risk for women spikes once they enter the
workforce. For women with kids, the poverty rate is almost double that of men
in the 25-34 age range — prime working years.
Some experts say the growing gap may be partly due to continuing
high unemployment rates among single mothers. Could be — but I’m betting a
bigger factor is the poverty-level minimum wage, which disproportionally
affects women of color.
Every presidential candidate has weighed in on the minimum wage.
While Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders argue over how much is enough — $12
for her, $15 for him — Cruz said $0 is the right number. He’d do away with the
federal minimum altogether, having deemed it a “bad policy.”
In typical Trump fashion, the GOP front-runner has said America
needs “good paying jobs,” while declaring a preference for leaving
the minimum at $7.25.
Not to be outdone on the contradiction front, Kasich said it’s “very important that we don’t raise the
minimum wage willy‑nilly,” but then adds that Uncle Sam ought to let the 50
states set 50 different minimums if that’s what they want.
All this adds up to a multi-pronged attack on low-wage working
women, who are the least able to fight back. They’re trapped by the ironclad
partisanship on Capitol Hill, where Republicans have promised not to raise
wages as long as they control Congress. And pushing back on those abortion
restrictions states have been rolling out? Forget it.
Between Congress and the nut-case wing of the GOP calling the
shots in the presidential race, the war on women promises to be a long one
indeed.
Martha
Burk is the director of the Corporate Accountability Project for the National
Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO) and the author of the book Your Voice, Your Vote: The Savvy Woman’s Guide to
Power, Politics, and the Change We Need. Follow Martha on Twitter @MarthaBurk.
Distributed by OtherWords.org.