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Free Childcare! From a Republican!
Donald Trump has figured out suburban women. He is going to guarantee six weeks of paid maternity leave for every new American mom. And if we vote for this compassionate man, we’ll also get tax credits for daycare and the government will help us set up “dependent care savings accounts” to support future generations from cradle to grave. Soon, all our of kids will have trust funds as big as Ivanka’s.
Provide 6 weeks of maternity leave to new mothers – The United States is the only developed country that does not provide cash benefits for new mothers. According to the U.S. Department of Labor: “Only 12 percent of U.S. private sector workers have access to paid family leave through their employer.” Each year, 1.4 million women who work give birth without any paid leave from their employer. The Trump plan will enhance Unemployment Insurance (UI) to include 6 weeks of paid leave for new mothers so that they can take time off of work after having a baby. This would triple the average 2 weeks of paid leave received by new mothers, which will benefit both the mother and the child.
That’s so awesome. Why has no one ever thought of this sort of initiative before? Ummm… wait. They have: They’re called progressive Democrats. And I’m a Republican woman because I have long-spurned policies that sound good but lead to rational discrimination, new entitlements, and exploding debt that will crush future generations.
Look, I understand kids are expensive. I’ve struggled in the past with childcare costs. I actually set up my very own “dependent care savings account” with the spare change I earned as a waitress when I was a young, single mom. (The bills that folded went to bills, you see; nickels and dimes went into the college fund.)
So, how can I explain my reaction to this latest proposal? It’s like when I was handed a New Coke as a kid. “It’s a better formula,” they said as I spat it out onto the sidewalk. I remember thinking that, if I wanted something that tasted like Pepsi, I would have just bought a Pepsi. Is that a hard concept for a businessman to understand?
Just asking.
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We give millennials a lot of hate for stupid expectations concerning employment and work environment, but the truth is technology has opened doors to policies that most employers are unwilling to explore and could possibly help with this problem without losing an employee for a full 6 weeks or funding an unproductive employee.
I hear you loud and clear.
I was blessed to marry young (not enough raises to care about maintaining more than a starting salary) and we set up our lifestyle on only one income. In the time before my son was born, we sank my income in debt relief and were debt free by the time my oldest was 2 (before #2 even existed).
In some ways we were lucky and in others we had enough foresight to make wise choices that most couples do not do for various reasons. Its been 7 years and we are still debt free and I am still staying home with 3 kids now. We make less than $100k per year in a major metropolitan area.
I recognize that while some people are tied to bad choices, others simply have it a lot harder than we did. Even when they make good choices. Our incredibly high unemployment rate and poor job stability makes it very difficult for even stable couples with modest income to take the risk. Who knows when his IT job is going to go to someone else?
Heh. I did that. It wasn’t intentional, though. I had 12 weeks off with 6 weeks paid. My functional manager knew I was looking for a part time position because we couldn’t afford more child care than that. My program went belly-up while I was on maternity leave and she didn’t try to find me part time work or even a reasonable full-time job. The only program she “could find” was one known for requiring 50+ hr work weeks. She knew I wouldn’t accept that so I walked out.
Another functional friend said there were plenty of positions open. I think I was being fair by not legally pursuing it or my functional’s harassment while I was excessively sick during the pregnancy.
I accept that a society where most families can survive on one income may not be feasible right now, but why wouldn’t it be a good idea? I am hoping that Trump’s other policies might make it possible for more families to live on one income; school choice in particular could be very helpful. So many couples max themselves out buying the most expensive home they can afford because they want to get their kids into the best schools; maybe if school choice were given free reign, they wouldn’t feel compelled to do this.
Because the insinuation that traditional gender roles may have been far wiser than other, more egalitarian arrangements is a loaded gun.
Well, but :) There is no law saying that the husband has to work and the wife should stay home; people could do it the other way around. Most people wouldn’t, but they could if they wanted to. Making life more affordable on one income would benefit everyone, regardless of how they feel about traditional gender roles.
This is not the role of government.
But I love how good-natured you are when you assert your position, Judithann. I tend to take you much more seriously than many a Trump apologist in this forum, and that is, indeed, because of your measured tone.
Thank you for that.
I do not disagree with you.
I think if the government removed or cut back the incentives for not working, returned to a model of incentivizing marriage, cut back immigration and incentivized businesses staying her/disincentivized moving, and removed hiring quotas, more women would choose to stay home. If maternity benefits are no longer a thing, women being out of work for 6 weeks would make a male breadwinner more desirable.
And 75 years from that point, we would start the cycle of feminism anew because traditions and patriarchy rather than wisdom and foresight.
Thank you, Lois Lane :) School choice is probably the number one thing that would make life more affordable, and it involves shrinking government. Lowering taxes is another conservative move that would make life more affordable. When I look around at the things that make life expenseive, it seems as though those things are mostly-not necessarily totally-but mostly the idea of liberals. :)
Thank you so much for your kind words; discussing this issue with you is very enjoyable, because you are so good natured; thank you.