After more than two decades at NBC, “Today” show anchor Hoda Kotb announced she’s jumping off the career treadmill to raise her children. I know how she feels. So do the majority of America’s mothers.
However, raising our own children isn’t a choice easily available to moms who aren’t celebrities or wealthy elites. Hoda’s colleagues tearfully clapped her on the back for her “guts.” The rest of us are shamed and are forced to deal with laws and policies that favor working moms.
Regardless of wealth, education, religion, or career, the preference for staying home is shared by most women. According to the 2017 American Community Survey, 63 percent of mothers prefer working part-time or not at all. According to the Pew Research Center, although some dads stay at home too, 83 percent of the more than 11 million stay-at-home parents are mothers.
The most common reason given? Mothers want to spend time with their kids. That’s exactly what Kotb said when she announced that her children deserved a “bigger piece of my time pie.”
With a salary north of $7 million, money is no object for Kotb. But due to legal and economic policies that force both parents to work to make ends meet or even afford a middle-class lifestyle, far more mothers work full-time than want to. It’s a two-income trap Elizabeth Warren identified decades ago that is now politically inexpedient for her to talk about.
With the current level of inflation and the price of groceries and basic housing, the situation will undoubtedly get worse. Our tax
