Obama Claims Minimum Wage Is a Women's Issue; Rick Perry Is Hating

This week, President Obama presented his case to raise the minimum wage from a fresh angle: not only is it an economic equality issue, it’s a women’s issue. Here’s why.

In a White House report released on Wednesday, writes USA Today, the Obama administration says that the financial gain in moving the minimum wage up to $10.10 from $7.25 would help women more than men. Why? We make up a large chuck of minimum wage or low-wage sector jobs like “personal care and health care support occupations.” Think home health care aids, waitresses, custodians, and child care.

According to Betsey Stevenson, a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, raising the minimum wage would reduce the wage gap between women by 5 percent.

This White House push coincides with Democratic congressional candidates making a minimum wage hike part of their campaigns. Conversely, Republican Governors like Texas’ Rick Perry — who is still threatening to run for President because Mitt Romney embarrassing him on stage during all of those debates wasn’t enough — is saying that the wage gap isn’t such a big deal and those trixy Texan lawmakers just put the issue up for him to deny as a move in the larger political game. Don’t you see? Listen to him try to make that ridiculous point during a tense appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. It’s so clear that none of the hosts want to entertain Perry but were instructed to offset their disgust by saying, ‘He’s surprisingly charming.’