http://equalwrites.org/2009/01/05/first-lady-for-a-paycheck/ Feminism and Gender Issues at Princeton University Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:51:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://equalwrites.org/2009/01/05/first-lady-for-a-paycheck/#comment-290 Josher Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:56:00 +0000 http://equalwrites.org/2009/01/05/first-lady-for-a-paycheck#comment-290 Is there anything that would compellingly go into such a job description to justify the addition of an extra paycheque? </></>That sounded trollish, but to elaborate: being realistic about this, giving the first lady a paycheque would do very little to give the taxpayer value for money. Give that the first spouse's job is usually to act, with a greater or lesser degree of autonomy, as a presidential proxy or goodwill ambassador, there seems to be very little that could be added to her/his job description to justify an autonomous constitutional role. Furthermore, I'm not sure that that's even desirable; the first lady is not, after all, elected, but nor is she appointed or given any oversight by any of the other branches of power. At best, this would make already vexed presidential elections much more complex, as the country gains an even greater license to pry invasively into the lives of presidential partners; at worst, it creates a constitutional paradox in which a state employee, effectively unfirable (short of divorce), is drawing a salary with no effective oversight outside of his or her husband or wife. </></>Perhaps the right to constitutionally define the role of the first lady / husband would be valuable. But at the moment, the first family does not get badly remunerated, albeit for one of the worlds' toughest jobs. I can see the logic of making the arrangement more egalitarian, I just can't see a way of doing so that isn't vexing in other, more worrying ways. Is there anything that would compellingly go into such a job description to justify the addition of an extra paycheque? That sounded trollish, but to elaborate: being realistic about this, giving the first lady a paycheque would do very little to give the taxpayer value for money. Give that the first spouse’s job is usually to act, with a greater or lesser degree of autonomy, as a presidential proxy or goodwill ambassador, there seems to be very little that could be added to her/his job description to justify an autonomous constitutional role. Furthermore, I’m not sure that that’s even desirable; the first lady is not, after all, elected, but nor is she appointed or given any oversight by any of the other branches of power. At best, this would make already vexed presidential elections much more complex, as the country gains an even greater license to pry invasively into the lives of presidential partners; at worst, it creates a constitutional paradox in which a state employee, effectively unfirable (short of divorce), is drawing a salary with no effective oversight outside of his or her husband or wife. Perhaps the right to constitutionally define the role of the first lady / husband would be valuable. But at the moment, the first family does not get badly remunerated, albeit for one of the worlds’ toughest jobs. I can see the logic of making the arrangement more egalitarian, I just can’t see a way of doing so that isn’t vexing in other, more worrying ways.

]]> http://equalwrites.org/2009/01/05/first-lady-for-a-paycheck/#comment-289 Roscoe Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:33:00 +0000 http://equalwrites.org/2009/01/05/first-lady-for-a-paycheck#comment-289 I mean, she can have all the credit she wants, but I didn't vote her into anything. I mean, there are a lot of people I can trust and respect, but absolutely think are crazy for picking the spouse they did (Not that I think Michelle Obama was crazy when she wrote her thesis or anything...).</></>It seems like an interesting idea, but one that should remain in coffee table discussions. The first spouse is just that, the spouse of the president. What, in fact, does this person actually do anyway? What are the expectations of a first spouse? If this is indeed a job, what is the job description? These are open questions as I'm not really sure, so please feel free to answer them (I mean, I know lots of great things have been done by first ladies in the past, but for the discussion of first spouses in the future, were any of those things really required of the first ladies in question, or was it some personal conviction that led them to do that?). I mean, she can have all the credit she wants, but I didn’t vote her into anything. I mean, there are a lot of people I can trust and respect, but absolutely think are crazy for picking the spouse they did (Not that I think Michelle Obama was crazy when she wrote her thesis or anything…).It seems like an interesting idea, but one that should remain in coffee table discussions. The first spouse is just that, the spouse of the president. What, in fact, does this person actually do anyway? What are the expectations of a first spouse? If this is indeed a job, what is the job description? These are open questions as I’m not really sure, so please feel free to answer them (I mean, I know lots of great things have been done by first ladies in the past, but for the discussion of first spouses in the future, were any of those things really required of the first ladies in question, or was it some personal conviction that led them to do that?).

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