How a bid to axe the ‘pink tax’ got shelved

Plus some recommended reading and don't forget the reader survey

A bid to rein in price-gouging women in the checkout line was a deal just too good to happen this year.

Senate Bill 5171 from Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, the deputy majority leader, chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee, and current candidate for attorney general, would have at least theoretically cracked down on that by banning businesses from making bank off the so-called “pink tax.”

So, what’s the “pink tax?” First off, it’s not really a tax. It’s a term of art for charging more for products — many of which are actually colored pink — aimed at women, compared to similar products marketed to women.

We don’t think it’s necessary to mansplain why folks should care about this. But we did want to shed some light on why a seemingly straightforward idea died in a statehouse largely controlled by women. 

Should a razor command a premium because it’s pink and curvy?