Adam Smith, call your office

"Jane's Law" holds that the party in power - whichever party - is smug and arrogant, while the party out of power is insane. Since winning control of the legislature, Iowa's Democrats are struggling with the transition.

How so? Consider newly-introduced SF 182. The bill explanation says it all:

This bill provides that a person or employer shall not discriminate in providing compensation for work of comparable worth between jobs predominately held by women and men. The bill defines "comparable worth" as being the value of work as measured by the skill, responsibility, and working conditions involved in performing the work. A violation of this provision constitutes a simple misdemeanor.

"Comparable worth" is absolute economic illiteracy. The "worth" of a job is found where an employer is willing to pay an employee is willing to accept. The idea of legislators or judges second-guessing wage levels across the economy is so impractical and absurd that only politicians could advocate it with a straight face.

Brian Gongol has more.