Wednesday, the Senate failed to pass (along party lines) the gender marginalizing, government growing, free enterprise violating, “Paycheck Fairness Act.”

The liberal spin on this result has been that there is gender inequality in this country, and the “big, bad, lady-hating” Republicans are preventing women from making the same as men in a time of economic recovery.

There are a couple problems with this logic, beginning with the fact that Republicans, men and women alike, don’t disagree that gender inequality wrongly exists in the workplace. However, the government shouldn’t act as a mechanism to tell private employers how to run their businesses. If a woman or man is being paid disproportionately to staff of the opposite gender, but presents a better or equal quality of work, they should be able to find another job that will pay them the salary they desire. That’s how the free market works.

Furthermore, the “Paycheck Fairness Act” is an effort to achieve income parity specifically for women. But gender discrimination based on pay is not exclusively applicable to women. Men also experience gender inequality for one, in the modeling industry.

Not only that, but depending on the industry one gender may generally be more equipped with the skills needed to complete the necessary requirements than another. It is for the industry and employers to decide based on productivity. And, keeping with the theme of individual responsibility it is also the employee’s responsibility to know what they should be earning, accomplish the job at hand, and negotiate with their employer.

“Smart girls” know all Americans are entitled to make the same wage, and that to prevent one’s pursuit of life, liberty or pursuit of happiness based on gender is wrong. But we also know we don’t need the government to control the private market in order to do so.

A “smart girl” knows that based on merit, and our own “smarts” we can make our own way without Uncle Sam holding our hand along the way.