People often call having a child a blessing. However, many couples struggle to grow their families because of how expensive it is to have a child. The costs of diapers, doctors, and all the new clothes the baby needs adds up quick. What makes this financial struggle even harder is the fact that not many jobs offer paid parental leave, and if they due, the time is very limited. As a result, many new parents are forced to use their sick days if they want to spend their time with their new baby.
The initial few weeks of a baby's development consist of innumerable "firsts" and have proven to be an important time to build the parent-child bond. Mothers and fathers are being stripped from their time with their new children due to employers strict policies. Fortunately, progress is being made in this issue. In the past, some companies have offered paid parental leave, some of them even for a generous amount of time. Recently, though, the matter has been taken to a state level as Portland declared they are to provide city employees with six weeks of paid parental leave. Portland is an infamously liberal city and is very politically correct in its ways. Therefore it is no surprise that the parental leave policy is structured in a similar fashion. Parental leave in Portland is not just for mothers, it is offered to any new parent, mother or father, in a gay relationship or straight. Additionally, Portland's policy is inclusive of all ways in which one may become a new parent; leave is offered to anyone who has acquired a child through: childbirth, adoption, or foster care. Having paid parental leave is not just beneficial to the parent and child but to the employers well. It has been studied that parents who come back too soon after having a child are distracted and not nearly as productive as those who have had an appropriate amount of time with their child.
Portland is not alone is providing parents with this paid time off; San Francisco and Cincinnati have also given their city employees paid parental leave. Seattle and Washington D.C. are additionally considering adopting this new policy. Cities do have to take into consideration the cost of allowing so much paid leave: it cost Portland $217,000 to entitle about 5,500 people to the six weeks of paid leave once a year.
In my opinion, this is an important matter that should be considered by all cities and expanded into all states. I think it is healthy for the relationship of the parent and child and agree with Seattle Commissioner Amanda Fritz that it is worth the cost of the program.
What do you think: Is paid parental leave a good idea and worth the money? Will the policy spread more throughout the country? Why or why not? Will paid parental leave become a talking point for presidential candidates?
http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/03/pf/portland-oregon-parental-leave/index.html
4 comments:
After reading this article, I am very interested in Portland's new approach with providing pay for parents who have new-born children and need to stay home. I think that paid parental leave is a great idea, but I don't think both parents necessarily have to stay home and both get paid. I mean that might be getting a bit ridiculous to be paying parents to stay home and not work. I know when I was a kid both my parents worked in the city, so they hired a babysitter/nanny type of person. I think that probably is still the way most people take care of their kids today, but if some states are willing to pay for a few weeks for parents to be will their children at home, that is truly a great sight to see. I don't really see this spreading throughout the country simply because some states that have high populations, like California and New York, won't want to spend millions of dollars paying parents to stay home from work. In the states view, they'd probably be losing a lot of money if they enacted the paid parental leave. I really don't see this becoming a talking point for the candidates, but it should be a point that maybe Bernie or Hilary should make, since they bulk of their voters come from the middle-class.
Recently, many companies have become more open to the idea of paid parental leave not only for women but men as well. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook announced that he will be taking two months of parental leave. But, the city of Portland took this to the next level by providing their citizens with paid parental leave. I agree with Mia that this should be expanded with all 50 states passing similar law, due to the importance this event has for families. I think the policy will certainly spread more throughout the country, especially due to its acceptance by the major startups and technology companies located in Silicon Valley. I do think paid parental leave will become a talking point for the candidates. However, it has to take a back seat to more pressing and controversial issues such as terrorism, gun control, immigration, and economic regulation.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-DGB-44221
Recently, many companies have become more open to the idea of paid parental leave not only for women but men as well. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook announced that he will be taking two months of parental leave. But, the city of Portland took this to the next level by providing their citizens with paid parental leave. I agree with Mia that this should be expanded with all 50 states passing similar law, due to the importance this event has for families. I think the policy will certainly spread more throughout the country, especially due to its acceptance by the major startups and technology companies located in Silicon Valley. I do think paid parental leave will become a talking point for the candidates. However, it has to take a back seat to more pressing and controversial issues such as terrorism, gun control, immigration, and economic regulation.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-DGB-44221
I found this article extremely uplifting, and after a series of articles that focused on our nations recent faults and downfalls, it was a great change of pace. I think that the developments made in Portland and other cities across the nation are a large step in the right direction. With more and more companies adopting the policy of paid paternal leave, we are supporting the average American family. It is important to continue encouraging the youth to start families in order to maintain a stable economy and promote the American standard of living. When employers are not understanding of the time it takes to properly care for a child, people either do not have children or do not devote enough time nurturing their child due to the fact they have to work to financially support their child. Paid parental leave gives these parents the best of both worlds; financial means to care for their child and spend time with them too. I believe it is worth the money because it provides for more stable future generations. I do not think paid parental leave will become a talking point of presidential candidates because it is so new and in no way can compete with issues such as foreign and domestic policy. I do believe that in the future this issue will and should gain more attention.
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