In the wake of a bulletin from some annoyingly bossy women that the the mere use of the word “bossy” is injurious to the delicate American female, John Stossel debunks the Democratic rhetoric about a “war on women” from a libertarian perspective.
Stossel acknowledges that the “war on women” rhetoric has been (in the words of Politico) a "proven, persuasive argument." Well, I wouldn’t quite say that the Democratic propaganda rises to the level of what we historically call an “argument,” but it has certainly been persuasive. We’ll be hearing a lot about the “war on women” between now and the November midterms.
But a lot of the Democratic “arguments” that conservatives are waging a “war on women” are built on fallacy and misinformation, Stossel points out. What about the notion that fire departments unfairly discriminate against women firefighters? Or take the argument that the health care system discriminated against women before the glorious dawn of ObamaCare. Stossel writes:
At the time, fire departments had dropped strength tests to avoid being accused of sex discrimination. When I told Steinem that one of my interviewees complained that instead of being carried during a fire, now she would be dragged downstairs, with her head hitting each stair, Steinem retorted, "It's better to drag them out … there's less smoke down there."
Such mindless egalitarianism appeals to politicians, so governments push more of it. President Barack Obama and his supporters brag that Obamacare forces health insurance companies to sell men and women health insurance for the exact same price. On my TV show this week, Democratic activist Jehmu Greene asks indignantly, "Do you want to live in a country where you charge women more than men?"
Well, yes, I do. Insurance should account for costs. Women go to doctors much more often. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say, even if you exclude pregnancy visits, women are 33 percent more likely to visit a doctor.
Insurance companies used to reflect that in prices. That isn't bigotry — it's just math.
Hey, no Larry Summers jokes from any of you bossy ladies out there!