You can't have a discussion about equality for women without discussing the wage gap. According to the Census Bureau, on average, women earned just 80 cents to a man's dollar last year, but that figure only tells part of the story.
MomsRising CEO Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner shares her take on where women stand on the path to equality, and what else needs to be done. She notes that there is still a lot of work to do, but lays out a few recent wins that women have had in the fight for wage equity.
Rowe-Finkbeiner also discusses the importance of Frances McDormand's acceptance speech at the Oscar's - specifically her mention of the inclusion rider. She says that the inclusion rider could have a significant impact on the entertainment industry and beyond.
Cheddar's Chloe Aiello has our cannabis year-in-review, breaking down how several states legalized adult recreational use and greenlit medicinal use in 2021. She noted that while a cannabis legalization and decriminalization bill was introduced in Congress this year, potential FDA involvement in the industry, as well as a 25 percent excise tax, killed any chance the bill had of moving forward. Aiello also speculated that some form of cannabis reform could be rolled out in 2022, as the midterm elections draw closer.
Jim Worden, Chief Investment Officer at Wealth Consulting Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the period between Christmas and New Year's is difficult to predict due to a lack of institutional volume, with the Omicron variant adding even more uncertainty on Wall Street.
Prices at the pump this year reached a seven-year high, and a new forecast from GasBuddy shared with CNN predicts that gas prices will only continue to rise in 2022 and that the national average could even reach $4.00 a gallon; however, analysts at GasBuddy say anything could happen when it comes to gas prices in the future, as the pandemic has made it difficult to make any predictions about the economy. Consumer Energy Alliance federal policy advisor Michael Zehr joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
David Stryzewski, CEO of Sound Planning Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says that some of the major stock positions are getting the most lift to the upside as the major indexes climb higher to begin the week.
