Women Pay More than Men

Lorenzo Berardinetti, an Ontario MPP, went shopping with his wife in the Eaton Centre and didn't like what he discovered. He found out that in some cases, women pay more for goods and service than men, especially for things like clothing and haircuts. Now he wants to introduce a bill in Parliament that would: "...make it illegal for businesses to set prices based on what gender their products and services are intended for". This is a bad idea, and in case Mr. Berardinetti wants to know why, I have three words for him: free market economy. I suggest he look it up. I would also suggest that he study some economics and learn about "market value". One wonders how this would even be enforced, assuming his bill ever passes. Will some mindless bureaucrats fix prices? Will they go after just the retailers, the wholesalers, or both? If a retailer bought some women's clothing at a higher price from a wholesaler than men's clothing does the retailer have to charge equal prices? If goods or a service is priced higher for women and there is justification for it, who has to prove it, the retailer or the government? How much would it cost to taxpayers? What total effect would this have on the economy? I'll also bet that in order to meet the requirement of "gender equal prices", businesses are more likely to raise men's prices to meet women's prices rather than lower women's prices to meet men's prices. Fortunately, I believe that enough MPPs will have the minimum of common and political sense to never let this bill pass.