Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'd like to see women get 6 months off at 50% pay, and I'm willing to pay more in taxes. I strongly believe in it.
just keep paying all those taxes...personally, I'd rather retire than pay for maternity leave. Let she who gets pregnant pay for her own 'down time.'
Koale
A years maternity leave is not unheard of in many European countries.
It is a sensible political response in their setting. Countries in Europe have declining fertility rates, and need a setup where women can be both taxpayers and produce new taxpayers. America has historically had a constant stream of immigrants ready to replace declining taxpayers, and so has had no economic need for encouraging maternity.
Also, the strong social policies of many European countries require a large percentage of the population to be working and paying taxes. Children who grow up in stable households with employed parents who take pride in doing a job, tend to become working people themselves. Children of welfare recipients have a much larger chance of growing up to become welfare dependent themselves.
In America, having children is increasingly left to welfare dependents.
Contemplate this for a moment:
In nations with strong maternity leave, the employed people get up to a years paid maternity leave. The welfare recipients get nothing. Only people who work can get some of their tax money back that way.
In the US, the employed get very little, while the non-working get infinite paid maternity leave.
I think a better idea is to get back to a culture n which one parent can stay home with the kids.
I mean, 6 weeks, one year...what is the difference? Does the kid not need a mother/father after one year?!
I agree 100%.
If working new mothers would take the time to figure out how little they earn per hour when all is said and done, they would gladly stay home and take the small monetary loss. The kids would gain so much and the marriages would also benefit.
If working new mothers would take the time to figure out how little they earn per hour when all is said and done, they would gladly stay home and take the small monetary loss. The kids would gain so much and the marriages would also benefit.
What do you mean by when all is said and done? You think a woman should quit her job because she would only be working to pay for daycare? And I was thinking it was the responsibility of both parents to pay for such thing? Why is the woman always the one expected to give it all up anyway? I have a 1 yr old and I still work full-time. Daddy works part-time and stays home with her.
just keep paying all those taxes...personally, I'd rather retire than pay for maternity leave. Let she who gets pregnant pay for her own 'down time.'
Koale
^^^^^^^^this. People in this country are always looking for a hand out/entitlement. Your kids are YOUR responsibility, not MINE. You want extra time to be with your kids quite your job and take a reduction in lifestyle.
I was just listening to a radio show today, where a European woman was relating that she was shocked by the short release American women get for maternity. Apparently, in her country, Slovenia, all women get a government paid maternity leave of 1 year.
Anyhow, enough of my anecdotes. What do you think of this issue? Who should pay for maternity leave (or paternity, if appropriate), and for how long? And why? This seems like a quality of life, parenting, policy issue of some importance.
Business should provide whatever benefits they choose. If the market demands paid maternity leave, so be it.
I hear you about offering new entitlements at this point in time. Probably a nonstarter, but we do have the largest military in the history of the world massive farm subsidies,etc. And one could argue that helping kids get a good start in life is more important than all of those.
So, eliminate farm subsidies and cut the military budget.
Why does paid maternity leave have anything to do with your standard of living?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
