Newspapers around the country are doubtlessly celebrating the success of women in yesterday’s election. After all, Nancy Pelosi stands to be the first female Speaker of the House. That sounds historic, er…herstoric. But is a Speaker Pelosi a victory for women?
IWF’s Carrie Lukas says “no” in a great column over at Townhall.com today:
“For two decades, women have consistently voted for more liberal candidates than men. If only women voted, America would have had a President Gore in 2000, a President Kerry in 2004 and a Democratic-controlled Congress. This voting trend sends the apparent message: Women want caring, nurturing, ‘feel your pain’ Democrats running the show on Capitol Hill.
“American women should be careful what they wish for. Over the next two years, they will witness some of the consequences of having liberals in charge, as Democrats push for bigger government, higher taxes, and more regulation — none of which benefit women.”
What kind of issues, you ask? Let’s start with taxes:
“Democrats have derided the Bush tax cuts as solely rewarding the rich. Yet when the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire, middle class families will learn how much these tax laws have benefited them. In four years, the child tax credits will be cut in half, the marriage penalty will return, and the bottom income tax bracket will rise from ten percent to fifteen percent. Middle class families may be surprised that the Democrats’ agenda of repealing Bush’s ‘tax cuts for the rich’ will put a serious squeeze on their family budget.
“American women will also learn how higher taxes hurt the economy. Many of us don’t feel directly affected by investor tax cuts on dividends and capital gains. Yet these cuts have a significant, positive impact on the economy, and their elimination will have the opposite effect. Increased taxes on investment make capital more expensive, which makes it harder for businesses to expand and create jobs. That means slower economic growth and higher unemployment.”
Or, try the minimum wage:
“One of the few specific items in the Democratic agenda for 2007 is a minimum wage increase. Like most Americans who don’t look closely at the policy, many women see this as economic common sense. The reality is, like all regulations, a higher mandated wage comes with hidden costs like unemployment and higher consumer prices. Liberals portray employers as having an endless supply of money that they could give to employees were they not so coldhearted. The truth is companies forced to increase wages must find ways to cut costs or to increase revenue. This means reducing other salaries, firing workers, hiring less, or raising prices.”