Why we call them Freedom-Haters - today's edition

There is no need to get wonky about this. Yes, one could trot out the reasons why there actually is no pay gap between the genders, or the costs to businesses of complying with regulations.

But the basic principle ought to be front and center. Where does government get off telling private organizations how to conduct their affairs (i.e., pay people)?

The Obama administration will move on Friday to require companies to report to the federal government what they pay employees by race, gender and ethnicity, part of a push by President Obama to crack down on firms that pay women less for doing the same work as men.
The new rules, Mr. Obama’s latest bid to use his executive power to address a priority of his that Congress has resisted acting on, would mandate that companies with 100 employees or more include salary information on a form they already submit annually that reports employees’ sex, age and job groups.
“Too often, pay discrimination goes undetected because of a lack of accurate information about what people are paid,” said Jenny Yang, the chairwoman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which will publish the proposed regulation jointly with the Department of Labor. “We will be using the information that we’re collecting as one piece of information that can inform our investigations.”

Memo to Ms. Yang: This information is none of your damn business.