Economics

The Cost of Motherhood

Bryce Covert has a fascinating article in the Nation right now about how baby-having can put you deep in debt — not just because babies are expensive, but because U.S. parental leave policies put impossible financial strain on new parents.

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Gender Equality is the Friend of the Family

My latest at the Guardian:

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The Gender Wage Gap Still Exists

Women still make 77 cents to a man’s dollar, earning less for working the same jobs and the same number of hours. Unsurprisingly, black and Latina women have the widest pay gaps, and are much more likely to work low-wage jobs.

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A Conservative Argument for Birth Control

Conservatives like to say that they care about saving money, right? And that “Obamacare” is going to bankrupt the nation, the way that Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security apparently already are? Well here’s a great way to save $1.32 billion annually: Fund birth control.

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The Gap Between the Rich and the Poor Grows Larger

This is not new, but it’s disturbing: The SSA said 50 percent of workers made less than $26,364 last year — and most Americans have fewer job opportunities available to them. But the wealthiest Americans are relatively unscathed, with those earning $1 million or more jumping 18 percent from 2009.

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“If I Were A Poor Black Kid …” “If I Were A Slave Owner …”

Forbes ran this totally appalling thing titled “If I Were A Poor Black Kid” that is only interesting because of the amount of fail involved. On the bright side (?), at the end of it, they link to some of the outraged responses around the Internet. One of those responses is from Ta-Nehisi Coates.

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Student Debt Story

Natalia writes about something too many of us live with: Being overburdened by student debt.

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We Are the 53%. Or not.

Oh man this “We Are the 53%” movement. It is actually very sad! Basically, conservative pundit Erick Erickson has started a campaign called “We Are the 53%,” to counter the “We Are the 99%” and Occupy Wall Street movements. According to Erickson’s (very simplistic) math, 53% of Americans pay more in federal income taxes than [...]

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“The Percentages: A Biography of Class” by Sady Doyle

Probably, a lot of Feministe readers already read Tiger Beatdown. So maybe this is redundant, but I just had to boost the signal anyway. Sady Doyle’s recent post, The Percentages: A Biography of Class, is great. It’s a very intense storytime-type post, but also highly theoretical. Here’s a snip from the end, but please do [...]

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Your startup is inferior to that guy with the mobile app for golfers

In case you needed a reminder that ventures traditionally associated with women are inherently inferior to things that are manly and such, tech reporter Jolie O’Dell is happy to remind you via Twitter. Women: Stop making startups about fashion, shopping, & babies. At least for the next few years. You’re embarrassing me. After a few [...]

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