AEI, the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution have joined forces to publish a series of blog posts under the title: "Paid family leave: an issue whose time have come?" The main authors are Aparna Mathur (AEI) and Isabel Sawhill (Brookings) but they have reached out for contributions by other 'experts'. As of today I have seen 7 such posts. Interesting but with what impact and where does it go? A few furious comments by people who see paid family leave as discriminatory for people who don't have children. Amazing. (see at the bottom of the extended entry).
Over the next few weeks, you will get to read their opinions and offer your comments. We invite you to engage with us as a new administration takes office and charts out policies on these topics. This will help us better inform policymakers of the practical day-to-day realities of living in a country where millions lack access to paid leave at the birth of a child or to meet other caregiving needs.
Right now, the challenge is to persuade policymakers to see paid leave as a men’s issue. A maternity leave-only policy, like that endorsed by Donald Trump during his presidential campaign, runs the risk of putting back the clock in terms of gender roles.
Over the last few years, I’ve had numerous conversations with political leaders about the opportunity to introduce a paid parental leave policy. Several of the same questions and concerns tend to pop up among conservatives, which I would like to address here, considering that the new administration and Congressional majority are Republican.
The United States is one of two countries without a national policy providing new mothers with rights to paid leave following the birth of a child. Most industrialized nations also offer fathers paid time off the job (although often much less than mothers).
As economists always emphasize, there are important costs as well as benefits associated with paid family leave, and policymakers should strive for appropriate balance between them. Among the real and potential costs are: tax burdens on employers and employees; potential impacts on federal or state budget; and disruptions to the workplace that also burden employers.
Paid leave laws are a recognition of the changing picture inside people’s homes. Back in the 1960s, few women worked, and most of them dropped out of the workforce when they gave birth. Today, most women and mothers are working or attached to the workforce. While a few still choose to exit at the time of birth, for the vast majority, not working is not a choice.
Ivankanomics proceeds. From Politico: “Trump officials start Hill talks on maternity leave, child-care proposals.” But of course.
Achieving the American Dream depends on access to affordable child care.
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