[cyclotic]

Is paid family leave a good idea? Sure.

Is a federal mandate requiring a privately owned company to provide paid family leave a good idea? Absolutely not.

Imagine a small company with 20 employees has 3-4 women get pregnant, 2 people have death in the family and one adopts a baby. That’s almost a year and a half of full pay for one employee with zero productivity.

I daresay that many 20 person companies cannot afford that level of largesse.

If they can and choose to offer it as a benefit to encourage good employees, great.

Personally, I’ve never had to consider a family leave. We had our kids, I took a week or so vacation and went back to work. My wife was a stay at home mom.

Companies are required to keep a job open with unpaid family leave and that’s fine, but your employer should not be forced to pay your expenses of having a child.

[kosciusko51]

Don’t forget paternity leave, and leave for any couple when adopting a baby.

[grania]

I'm a Luddite. It wouldn't be a bad thing for the survival of civilization to go back to most families being a mom and dad, with one person's primary responsibility being a job and physical and financial support of the family, and the other in charge of loving care, day-to-day household chores and relationships with neighbors, community, and society as a whole. Paid family leave isn't a good idea. It encourages the breakdown of family and community structures.

I'm so far Luddite that I wonder if smashing the computers (like in many SciFi movies) might be the road to salvation.

<^..^>

[YouGoTexasGirl]

I totally agree with your comments!

After a life change (birth, death, divorce), the best thing to do is as soon as possible continue your normal life day to day. It’s survival of the fittest, my opinion.

Ivanka is wrong in her advise to her dad on this one.