One thought on “Problem Memo on Paid Parental Leave posted on behalf of Katie Roberts”
I appreciate the fact that you have shed light on both the facts that not only USA lag behind other countries to guarantee national entitlements to paid family leave but also fail to meet international standards. I have come through different articles about this topic in the past and found only a few articles to address these two issues together. I did not know that only three of our fifty states guarantee paid family leave, yet even these states only guarantee four to six weeks. I am not sure why the politicians do not address and include this issue in their election manifesto. At the same time I was wondering how strongly general American people feel about the need for this very essential basic right. Although women are more vulnerable and suffer more than the man, from your memo it is clear that everyone needs to avail this privilege. The basic question raised as always is, where the money will come from. In my opinion, this issue is an understated and less prioritized one. We owe to the new borns as they will lay the future of this country. If paid parental leave cost more, it should be considered as an investment to the future. Among the four problems you mentioned in the memo (Gender Inequalities, Income Inequalities, Maternal Health and Breastfeeding, Economics) I consider maternal health and breastfeeding to be the most important one as it shows if a mother is forced to return to her job early, how the infant can be deprived of the very essential requirement which only the mother can provide and the consequence can be severe sometimes. As I mentioned earlier, allocating more budget to ensure paid family leave is going to satisfy the right of not only the existing citizens of United States (the parent) but also of the new born citizen who will be the future citizens soon. What could be more better way to spend money for?
I appreciate the fact that you have shed light on both the facts that not only USA lag behind other countries to guarantee national entitlements to paid family leave but also fail to meet international standards. I have come through different articles about this topic in the past and found only a few articles to address these two issues together. I did not know that only three of our fifty states guarantee paid family leave, yet even these states only guarantee four to six weeks. I am not sure why the politicians do not address and include this issue in their election manifesto. At the same time I was wondering how strongly general American people feel about the need for this very essential basic right. Although women are more vulnerable and suffer more than the man, from your memo it is clear that everyone needs to avail this privilege. The basic question raised as always is, where the money will come from. In my opinion, this issue is an understated and less prioritized one. We owe to the new borns as they will lay the future of this country. If paid parental leave cost more, it should be considered as an investment to the future. Among the four problems you mentioned in the memo (Gender Inequalities, Income Inequalities, Maternal Health and Breastfeeding, Economics) I consider maternal health and breastfeeding to be the most important one as it shows if a mother is forced to return to her job early, how the infant can be deprived of the very essential requirement which only the mother can provide and the consequence can be severe sometimes. As I mentioned earlier, allocating more budget to ensure paid family leave is going to satisfy the right of not only the existing citizens of United States (the parent) but also of the new born citizen who will be the future citizens soon. What could be more better way to spend money for?