Apparently, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, thinks women are the weaker sex and that they need protection from the vicissitudes of modern life and capitalism. At least, that’s what one can surmise from his latest campaign.
Cuomo has recently insisted that he’s going to make the so-called “pink tax” illegal, according to the New York Post. This “pink tax” refers to the oft-repeated narrative that women’s products seem to cost more than those aimed at men. The typical example is that pink razors often do cost more than blue. Such gender discrimination is appalling, Cuomo says, and it must be stopped!
Of course, any actual adult knows that people only buy things they think are worth it. Companies will naturally try to get away with charging whatever they can, as you’d expect them to seek additional profit. But while prices might be different for seemingly similar products with only the tiniest variation, those paying must think the extra money is worth it. Otherwise, they would simply buy the cheaper product.
Some women pay the extra few cents for pink razors because that extra price is worth it to them. For those to whom it isn’t, well, they go around the aisle and pick up the blue razor instead. The freedom and liberty of the marketplace have solved this problem for us. There are no legal remedies or bans needed. If you believe people of any sex can be strong and independent, as I do, then there’s no need to intervene on consumer freedom here.
Besides, they’re not really quite the same item, so why would anyone think they would be the same price? Subtle differences are often associated with a difference in cost. Only when feminism becomes involved does this apparently become an issue worthy of legislation.
And if they are indeed the same item, as Cuomo seems to suggest, then anyone is free to pay either price, and there’s nothing that needs to be done more formally about this. After all, we don’t have price controls on razors in the first place.
Do Democrats such as Cuomo really think women aren’t able to bring themselves to purchase blue items? Perhaps some piece of social conditioning means they’re incapable of doing so. Perhaps pink is actually necessary for women. Perhaps they can’t find the other aisle. Perhaps Democrats think women are not strong and independent beings who get to make their own way through life, but rather that they need to be coddled and protected. That’s a rather archaic and patriarchal way of thinking for a male feminist like Cuomo to be advancing though.
It’s amusing that in this instance, it’s right-wingers insisting that women know how they’d like to spend their own money and are entirely capable of it. And it’s the liberal politician insisting they’re not competent and independent enough. After all, all women have to do to beat the supposed “pink tax” is not buy the pink stuff — just buy the cheaper product. Arguing a law is necessary here means arguing women are too incompetent to shop wisely.
They’re not.
Ultimately, consumer choice means that there’s no such thing as a “pink tax.” There’s only a choice of product and a choice of prices, and everyone gets to take their pick. Cuomo should stop the feminist pandering and realize that passing laws to fix nonexistent problems is not the best use of a governor’s time.
Tim Worstall (@worstall) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a senior fellow at the Adam Smith Institute. You can read all his pieces at the Continental Telegraph.
