90 DAYS, 90 REASONS

REASON 29: Barack Obama supports equal pay for equal work.

I have two daughters. I don't actually have them. I am the father of two daughters. They are fourteen and nine years old. At some point they will leave the safety of our home. That will be a drag. For them. Our house is nice and we have Direct TV as well as Apple TV, and a Bluray player. Their life is pretty sweet. The truth is they have done nothing to earn this life. My wife and I pay for everything! We never ask them to kick in. I am not sure they appreciate that.

On the day they leave to start their own lives, it will be vitally important for them to get jobs. I want them to have good jobs, and hopefully those jobs will make them happy and fulfill a dream.

But what if they get jobs somewhere, and it is the same exact job as a man who works across the hall from them (they work at the same place in this example). And what if that man makes 500 dollars a week performing this job and they get paid 350 dollars? Did I mention they all started work on the same day, and may I reiterate that they perform the same tasks and have the same responsibilities as the man across the hall?

If this was the case it would be fucked.

I don't think I can think of a better word to capture what it would be. Sometimes fucked is the perfect word. Just because we are talking politics doesn't mean I have to use a phrase like grossly unfair. It is just fucked.

Now do I want a president who does not think it is fucked? One who can find some bullshit philosophy which in his mind makes this scenario not fucked? Maybe he’s protecting business interests or feels there is no need for laws which protect people from such injustice.

Some things in life are crystal clear. Equal pay for equal work is one.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have fought against laws, which stand up for this ideal. Romney has refused to support the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that would close loopholes in existing pay equity law and would give additional funding to programs that help women close the gender pay gap. This bill is still being considered in Congress, which means it’s likely that Romney would have the opportunity to veto it should he win the election.

Paul Ryan’s views on equal pay for equal work, and women’s issues in general, are even more extreme. Ryan voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which helps women fight for equal pay for equal work.

President Obama, on the other hand, has consistently fought for equal pay for equal work. He signed the Lilly Ledbetter Act. Not only that, President Obama has tripled the number of women on the Supreme Court by nominating two women to the bench, created the White House Council on Women and Girls to support fair treatment in matters of public policy, and invested in opportunities for women in science and technology.

That is one of a thousand reasons why I am voting for President Barack Obama on election day.

—Judd Apatow
Los Angeles, California

90 DAYS, 90 REASONS

THANK YOU, AMERICAN VOTERS.