Americans Want A Welfare State, So Paid Leave Should Be Done The Least Stupid Way

[corbe]

Americans Want A Welfare State, So Paid Leave Should Be Done The Least Stupid Way
 
Small government conservatives naturally fear making common cause with the welfare state, but facing a 50 percent margin against them in popular opinion, it might be time to abandon outright opposition.

By Kyle Sammin   
March 20, 2019
 
Last week, Republican senators Joni Ernst of Iowa and Mike Lee of Utah proposed the CRADLE Act, a piece of legislation designed to address paid family leave. According to its authors, the plan is “budget neutral and flexible for parents who choose to opt in,” and would “enable parents to stay home with their newborns without creating a massive mandated government program.”

New parents are, at present, guaranteed 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). Companies are required to hold their jobs open for them. That’s something, but unpaid leave is a difficult choice for many Americans whose budgets are already squeezed and whose savings are minimal. The CRADLE Act would make that burden lighter.

The plan, inspired by a proposal from Kristen Shapiro of the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF,) is straightforward in its application. New parents would be permitted to draw up to three months of Social Security payments equivalent to what they would get if they had just reached retirement age.

The budget-neutral piece comes later: the person’s eligibility to collect Social Security would be pushed back by twice as much time she took for leave. Thus, rather than creating a separate benefit, the CRADLE Act shifts an existing benefit in time.

Americans Support the Welfare State

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http://thefederalist.com/2019/03/20/americans-want-welfare-state-paid-leave-done-least-stupid-way/

[Smokin Joe]

This American doesn't.  I am sure I am not alone. I have little doubt that there are others who are tired of busting their behinds to make ends meet, feed the kids, pay the bills, and  who pay their taxes so other people can scam and eff off. We don't want to quit doing the things we do, we don't want a handout (nor all the invasive government control that goes with it), we just want those who can to pull their own weight so we don't have to pay for their lack of doing so.

[Snarknado]

My own feeling is that if you can't afford to take a few weeks of unpaid leave, you have no business having a child. It's just the first of many steps in having someone else assume financial responsibility for the child you choose to have.

But a more-or-less self-financing option like this would be acceptable to me. Of course it has zero chance of passing...