The major news events of the past few weeks (and longer, frankly), have a common theme: Our culture matters. And we're losing our grip on it.
I don't just mean American culture; I mean western culture — that which has produced Greek philosophy, Roman political theory, the French approach to diplomacy, the magnificent British legal system, and so much more.
As a gender pay equity bill is taken up in the Massachusetts House, it is time to consider a question: Should your salary be contingent on your own talents and work ethic — or on what the lazy employee in a roughly similar position makes?
Although House bill 1733 is couched in the language of pay equity and transparency, it raises this very question. The bill, a version of which was passed unanimously by the Massachusetts Senate, would set up guidelines for courts to adjudicate allegations of gender pay discrimination and make it illegal to punish employees who publicly share their salary information.
