Working families and elders got past the “fiscal cliff” on New Year’s Day with their economic security mostly intact. Emergency unemployment benefits continue for the long-term unemployed. Although the payroll tax holiday was allowed to expire, as expected, the Bush era tax cuts remained in force for all but the wealthiest taxpayers, saving the typical family $2,200 per year. The 2009 expansions of low-income refundable tax credits were continued for workers, families with children and college students for five years. The deal did not require the use of a new inflation measure – the “chained CPI,” – which would have reduced Social Security benefits, and no cuts to Medicare or Medicaid.

In bi-partisan votes in the House and Senate, both chambers agreed to let the Bush tax cuts expire on income over $450,000 for a family and $400,000 for individuals. It is important to note that this is the first time since 1990 that any Republicans have supported any tax increase. Meanwhile, tax rates on income less than those thresholds will remain at the lower levels enacted in 2001 and 2003 as a “temporary” stimulus.

A head of household with taxable income of $35,151 would have seen her tax rate rise from to 28% from 15% if President Obama had not signed the “American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012” as he did Tuesday night. A single worker with one school age child needs $44,064 to be economically secure and meet all basic expenses, according to WOW’s Basic Economic Security Tables for the U.S. (more…)

The ladder in the graphic image that accompanied Stephanie Coontz’ article in the Sunday New York Times reminded me of OSHA testimony I read a few years ago by a woman who recounted that once, as she was climbing up a ladder on a construction site, she felt the ladder come away from the building above her. Thinking she was about to lose her life, she looked up and saw her supervisor, standing at the top shaking the ladder.

I don’t like generalizations, but we’ve got to face the fact that discrimination and stereotyping still exist, to one degree or another, in occupations that are largely dominated by one gender, one race or ethnicity or all of the above. An important point in Coontz’ statistics is that the advance of women’s occupational integration that began in the 1970s took hold in some fields (notably mail carriers, judges, physicians, managers and administrators) but declined after 1980 in other well-paid occupations, especially the skilled trades and computer technology.

In the 1970s, the Departments of Labor and Education began to devote a small amount of resources to programs that introduced girls and young women to the financial and career potential offered by nontraditional jobs. This deliberate outreach to females was accompanied by numerical goals, various forms of support while in training and technical assistance to help employers create non-hostile, safe and welcoming workplaces. More recently, the illusion that women have attained equal opportunity in the job market has led to a withdrawal of support for such programs as the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) and a similar funding gender set-aside under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act block grant to states.

Beyond the value we put on assuring equal treatment under the law, America needs to wake up to the fact that our future depends on utilizing the skills and talents of both women and men in our society.

Susan Rees

Director of Policy and Advocacy