Everyone wants people to have paid time off from work when they need it, particularly when welcoming a new child to the family. That doesn’t mean we should let politicians decide who gets to take leave or make workers jump through slow bureaucratic hoops to find out if their leave is approved.
Conservatives believe that individuals and families should be in charge of the decisions that matter most to them. Yet, now that abortion is restricted in certain states, some conservatives appear ready to support a new federal paid family leave entitlement to show support for women.
Such support is misguided. Women facing unplanned pregnancies need far more than a few weeks or months of partial paychecks to ease their concerns, and a one-size-fits-all federal paid family leave program would be ineffective, disruptive, and costly.
Government Checks Don’t Solve Parents’ Concerns
Women facing unplanned pregnancies have many concerns, including the stability of their relationships, job, income, housing security, and future child-care options. Paid time off certainly helps, but a new entitlement — providing something like six or 12 weeks of leave at 67 percent pay — is unlikely to sway most women’s decisions about whether or not to give birth.
Other factors, like flexible work options and access to affordable child care, are bigger concerns for parents. According to a 2018 poll by the Cato Institute: 26 percent of parents said that a more flexible work schedule was their top priority for balancing work and family; 23 percent cited the
