Sarah Solon

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In yet another attempt to whittle away at California's Proposition 103, a law suit currently in the works is seeking to restore loopholes that would allow insurance companies to place more emphasis on driver's marital status and zip code than on their driving record. In a classic DMI debate over what bearing marital status could have on one's driving insurance premiums,

Elana thinks insurance companies assume married people are better drivers because us single people are busy playing chicken to win the affections of our playground crushes.

And I think that insurance companies must assume that single people deserve the lower rates because there are just sooo many documented cases of drivers being distracted by their big ol' diamond engagement rings and rolling right off the road.

We both noticed, however, that reinstating this loophole discriminates against gay people, who - you know - don't have legal access to marriage. Read about it on California Progress Report.

(click here for more about DMI's Marketplace of Ideas event with Harvey Rosenfield, the brains behind Prop 103)

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"Kentucky River," a pending decision of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), would among other things forcefully promote nurses to "supervisors" with one aim in mind: by making these nurses management, they will be performing the same tasks, but will no longer be defined as laborers, and will thus lose their right to union organization. The AFL-CIO blog spells out the twisted logic behind this move.

Weighing in on this same topic with his always clear and cogent conservative analysis, Steven Colbert offers this wisdom: "It's time that labor and management come together as management to exploit labor."

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When it comes to the shortage of agricultural workers in California, Beat the Press suggests that NPR start believing in markets. According to Dean Baker, the following argument was absent from NPR's coverage: Perhaps if farmers offered higher wages, they would attract a larger workforce. And if the cost of doing so is too high, well then it seems the farmers selected the wrong commodities to deliver themselves profits.

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All women readers should take this ALF-CIO survey aimed at identifying the specific workplace hurdles faced by women. My favorite part is the instant results that pop up after you complete the survey: over 90% of respondents claim that where candidates stand on these issues would directly impact the way they vote, and exactly the same number say that they plan to vote come November. Look's like working women are an important bloc to wine and dine...that is, if by wine and dine you mean working to guarantee equal pay, child care support, affordable health insurance, and anti-discrimination enforcement.

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On the New Yorkers for Parks' new blog, the Dirt, Emily Farris asks a development question that plagues cities all over the country: when doling out and developing limited space, how do you balance waste demands and public recreation space? And in the case of Gansevoort Pier, should the two be constructed side by side?

Mini-Section on Health Care and Affordable Access to It:

Nathan Newman on why Maryland's veto of its Fair Share Health Care legislation is not the end of the fight for Fair Share.

In a different take, Ezra Klein on why Maryland's veto of its Fair Share Health Care legislation might just be something progressives should celebrate.

And while you're there, you can also read Ezra Klein on San Francisco, where the Board of Supervisors has unanimously endorsed a plan that would make San Fran the first city in the country to offer comprehensive, universal care to everyone, without distinction based on immigration or employment status.

An Oldie, but a Goodie:
Even though it was posted last week on the AFL-CIO blog, I just don't feel right about leaving this out. Since 1997 (the year we all remember as the last time the minimum wage was raised), the President's annual salary has increased by 100%. And everyone whose wages are restricted to the national minimum rate of $5.15 per hour (2/3 of whom are women in New York City), or whose wages are pegged at one or two dollars above the minimum, are still waiting in poverty for their raise.

Sarah Solon: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 6:56 AM, Jul 22, 2006 in Blog Stroll
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