(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . WOW2 Editorial: If Right Wing Evangelicals Make American Women Stay-At-Home Baby-Incubators [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-09-30 ______________________ WOW2 is a four-times-a-month sister blog to This Week in the War On Women . ______________________ Since this is the fifth Saturday in September, I am posting an editorial about what could happen to the U.S. economy if the GOP won big in 2024, and was able to pass a total federal ban on abortion and contraceptives. . ______________________ The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that women made up 47% of the U.S. workforce in 2022. About 45% of married mothers and 66% of single mothers worked outside the home, the majority of them in full time jobs, and their wages were often the difference between paying their household bills and needing ever more assistance from federal and/or state government programs. Contrary to the myth that minimum wage earners are mostly teenagers, 80% of them are adults, and 2/3 of those adult minimum wage earners are women. The Federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour hasn’t been raised since July 2009, but the cost of living in the U.S. increased by over 43% between 2009 and 2022. There are now 30 states with minimum wages set higher than $7.25, but 20 states (guess what color) have not made any increases. Adjusted for inflation, the current federal minimum wage is effectively around 40% lower than it was in 1970. So worst-case scenario: the GOP takes back the White House and they get majorities in both Houses in 2024. Then they placate the Right Wing Evangelicals by passing total federal bans on abortion and on contraceptives. Not only would the number of pregnancies (and the number of botched illegal abortions) increase, but since Republicans consistently vote against affordable childcare, a lot of women would be forced to leave the workforce and stay at home with infants and toddlers. There would be greater shortages in the cheap labor pool, and a big increase in the number of families and individuals living below the poverty line. When there are many more people with far fewer dollars to spend on consumer goods, that cuts into corporate profits. When corporate profits go down, they lay off low- to mid- level workers. The stress could also cause domestic violence to increase, but it would be even harder for women with children to leave abusive relationships because Republicans vote against the laws and services that would help to get them out of danger. Shelters would quickly be overwhelmed, and the number of unsheltered women and kids would increase, having a negative impact on health and safety, not only of those with no place to go, but on their communities. A 2015 report by the California State Auditor highlighted some of the detrimental impacts of unsheltered homelessness: Police departments in California cities spent millions of dollars on interactions with homeless people, and sanitation departments spent hundreds of thousands of additional dollars on cleanup of homeless encampments. A single open flame cooking fire in an encampment under a freeway in Los Angeles caused a fire that burned over 400 acres, and damaged or destroyed 18 homes. San Diego County experienced a local health emergency caused by a hepatitis A outbreak among homeless and illicit drug using populations resulting in 580 cases, 398 hospitalizations, and 20 deaths. Should the Republicans triumph in 2024, add that they have a long history of weakening regulations on Big Business and Big Banking, and the chances of a major recession by 2028 become extremely high. If you care at all about women and children, VOTE for DEMOCRATS, not just for President, but for the U.S. Congress and for state and local offices too. If you were hurt in the last big recession when GOP policies allowed Wall Street and the global corporations to tank the world economy, VOTE for DEMOCRATS. There’s been a lot of complaints about the Democrats “not doing enough” about climate change, women’s and LGBTQ+ rights, getting the minimum wage raised, passing sensible gun laws, and so on. But the Democrats need big enough majorities in Congress and state houses to make their policies reality. Yes, Democratic politicians must be louder and prouder about what they have accomplished. Yes, they need to get a lot louder calling out all the damage the Republicans have caused to our Constitutional government and to all Americans – except for the Richest of the Rich who fund the GOP in return for letting these 21st century Robber Barons get away with murder. The extreme Republican “base” is going to deliver votes for the worst of the worst Republicans. If we don’t deliver the votes the Democrats need to take back the majority in Washington and as much of the rest of the country as we can, then something very like what I’ve outlined will happen. Please Note: These are my opinions, and may not be shared by other members of This Week in the War On Women. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/30/2196071/-WOW2-Editorial-If-Right-Wing-Evangelicals-Make-American-Women-Stay-At-Home-Baby-Incubators Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/