A Law is Being Considered to End The Pink Tax
Cantera: Attorney Paul Harding. Sorry, Quinn.
Quinn: Sorry, buddy.
Cantera: Paul, I just want to jump on this. I never heard this until the news story the other day. A pink tax.
Paul: Yeah, so, you know, it’s a little more prevalent than you think. We haven’t really experienced this statewide. New York City currently, if you charge a different rate for a service that’s virtually the same service, it’s in violation of the law if you change your price based on gender, right? So you can’t charge women more than men for the same service. Now they’re looking at putting a law in that says if the brand, whether it’s razors or shampoo, has virtually the same products it has to be the same price.
Quinn: It makes logical sense.
Cantera: It makes logical sense except what if I market to women knowing that this is what makes women buy shampoo and my marketing of the product cost more than it does to market men? I mean, I hate government telling businesses how to do business, but what if there is more into the marketing? So they can’t charge more for that because it’s the exact same product?
Paul: Well, here’s the deal. So if the manufacturer or distributor sets the price then this law’s not gonna apply. What it really applies to is you get the product in, and it’s, you know, virtually the same cost. But you as the person selling it here, you’re not advertising, you’re not doing anything product research…and some of the stuff you’re talking about, very legitimate. Yeah, they do spend…I’ve always felt they spend a little more time and energy marketing to women because I think women have a finer taste as it pertains to the things that they want. Especially for some of these personal products.
Quinn: There’s no question there. I mean that’s a no brainer.
Cantera: Right again, Paul.
Quinn: Plus, they do a lot of the purchasing for the household stuff too, you know?
Paul: Yeah. Yeah, and so they’re the primary. So but if the manufacturer or distributor says, “Look. It’s gonna be 1.29, and it’s gonna be .99 for men,” you can do that even under this law. You just can’t get the product in your shop locally and say, “Ah, you know, here we go, we’re gonna make it 1.89.”
Cantera: It’s kind of the same infractions as when my bodega sells loose cigarettes. The manufacturers set the price.
Paul: I think that was part of the law. Yeah, I think they did mention that in the [inaudible 00:02:14]. Yep.
Cantera: Listen to this. Listen to this. A study of nearly 800 products including toys, clothing, and health products with different gender versions found that women spend 7% more on average than men. And that’s thousands of dollars over a woman’s life.
Quinn: I’m a niche market over here. But I knew when I was going to the [inaudible 00:02:32] Big and Tall and, you know, getting a four X, I mean I get being charged a little bit extra just because of the fabric costs.
Cantera: The material.
Quinn: The material. And I presume that the OEM, the original equipment manufacturer’s gonna decide based on that, the material costs and the manufacturing, right?
Paul: Well, the law’s not gonna…Again, state law’s not gonna be able to protect against that. But probably this is a precursor to a federal legislation that’s gonna look into are they just boosting the price because they know that the females might get caught up in the marketing of it and pay more. So statewide probably not gonna affect what they’re doing on national products. But eventually, I think we’re gonna see the national…this gender bias price discrimination because as they’ve showed, it’s real.
Cantera: You know what would be great? If we had legislation that guaranteed women equal pay.
Quinn: Oh, that would be nice.
Cantera: Can we have that?
Quinn: You mean they didn’t have to work until July to catch up?
Cantera: So they gotta pay 7% more for their shampoo, and they make 22% less than the guy they work with in the cubical next to them. Doesn’t seem right, does it?
Paul: It does not.
Quinn: It doesn’t. Listen, and who knows who’s the breadwinner, you know? I mean, just saying. Who’s got the money, you know? I don’t know. I mean who’s to judge? This is a little sketchy, this whole thing, for me.
Cantera: We’re gonna keep an eye on this pink tax story.
Quinn: Yeah, capitalism could be under fire, Cantera.
Cantera: We’ll see.
Quinn: Well, it could be. Paul, thank you. 1-800-LAW-1010. 1800law1010.com. Paul Harding from Martin, Harding & Mazzotti. Have a good one, buddy.
Cantera: Thanks, Paul.
Paul: Yep, talk soon, guys.
Quinn: I hope Florida was fun for you.
Paul: It was.
Cantera: Oh, yeah, how’d the commercial shoot go?
Paul: Oh, it was good. Yeah, two in a half days we sat down there and sitting around in studio not ever seeing the sun. I came back lighter than when I left, so, yeah.
Cantera: Well, good to have you back.
Quinn: We’ll look for them. Thanks, brother.
Cantera: Thanks, Paul.
Paul: See ya. Bye-bye.
Man: Quinn and Cantera, mornings on PYX 106.