Counter-Programming Alert: Watch Matt Welch Debate Mandatory Salary Transparency on PBS Tonight!

Check local listings for the late-night public-TV debate show in which Boston liberals occasionally get to vote on libertarian arguments!

A month ago I was happy to take part in the premier of a new PBS late-night chat/debate show called Point Taken, in which two teams of two debaters get on either side of a single question, and a studio audience votes before and after to see whether the debaters changed their views. The first episode was about whether the American Dream was dead…and I lost!

Tonight's episode, which airs at 11 p.m. in most media markets (check your local listings!), is about whether employers should divulge (or should be forced to divulge) all their employees' salaries. I will be taking the "no" side. Here's how they tee it up:

President Obama has taken action to increase pay transparency among federal contractors. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces laws prohibiting employment discrimination, recently issued a regulation requiring large companies to disclose aggregate salary information in their annual informational filing. And states have been taking action as well, with California and New York enacting legislation to support pay transparency efforts.

Their primary goal is to eliminate the gender wage gap. Currently, in the United States, women earn approximately 21 percent less than men.

You can imagine that I would have some opinions about this issue. I mentioned some of them in this Facebook preview from the control room:

Joining Team Libertarian is Patrice J. Lee of Generation Opportunity and the Independent Women's Forum; on the let-them-eat-spreadsheets side is tech entrepreneur Dan Price, who made industry waves by establishing a minimum-wage salary at his company of $70,000; and GIFer extraordinnaire Ijeoma Oluo.

Tune in to see how I do! INC.com has a pre-write here.

Comments

[Winston]

The first episode was about whether the American Dream was dead?and I lost!

So the guy who babbles on about how the Libertarian Moment is upon us can't convince the audience of a PBS show that the American Dream is alive. What a shock!

[darius404]

To be fair, I wouldn't exactly call a PBS audience a very liberty-minded or forward-thinking set.

[Winston]

Except he's been babbling for years about the libertarian moment which includes appealing to the PBS set especially when the "American Dream is alive" is a big part of their libertarian moment spiel.

[True Scottsman]

It may have been mentioned before, something about cocktail parties...

[darius404]

Uh, no. There's no reason to believe that a "libertarian moment" needs to include the audiences of government-funded media outlets. It's a bit of a stretch to conclude anything about how liberty-minded the populace is based off of that, nevermind how small of a sample that probably is.

[Winston]

There's no reason to believe that a "libertarian moment" needs to include the audiences of government-funded media outlets.

So why would Welch do the show then?

[Winston]

Also their spiel is trying to be very inclusive with little "fuck the moochers!".

[Jerryskids]

The first episode was about whether the American Dream was dead?and I lost!

I'm guessing "the American Dream" involves more income equality and free college and Caitlyn Jenner being every boy's hero than what anybody here would describe as the American Dream.

[Brian]

I thought owning a house was the American dream. You know: like how baseball is the national pastime.

We really need to straighten this out at the next meeting.

[Long Woodchippers]

Currently, in the United States, women allegedly earn approximately 21 percent less than men.

FTFY

[Hamster of Doom]

I was all excited for debate about disclosing the true costs of employment to employees. What? Tell people exactly how much that employer plan costs? Disclose how much the cash wage would be, without all the this'n'that'n'the'other'n? Three-quarters through before I realized this was about wage "equality".

This is Hamster's disappointed face.

[GILMORE?]

The first episode was about whether the American Dream was dead?and I lost!

I vaguely recall matt being on the "Alive" side, and that viewer polls went in favor of his side at the end?

[GILMORE?]

oh, just checked it. It went from 33/67 "dead/alive" to 42/58 "dead/alive"

still in favor of the "american dream is alive".... but fewer of them.

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