Working moms look to Michelle Obama for change

CINCINNATI (Reuters) - Maternity leave. Affordable child-care. Flexible work arrangements. When first lady Michelle Obama said she wanted to help working women balance career and family, American moms applauded -- and immediately came up with a wish-list of policy changes.

The list of demands from working parents in the United States is long, in part because family policies lag far behind most industrialized nations.

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There is no paid maternity leave mandated in the United States, a situation shared by only three other countries: Papua New Guinea, Swaziland, and Liberia, according to a 2007 study by Harvard and McGill universities.

"I've heard mothers in some European countries get paid to stay home," said Fleming, somewhat incredulously. "I don't see that happening, companies (here) don't value it as much."

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"I work, my husband works, and child-care is like $1,500 a month for an infant. That's crazy. You can hardly afford to work and pay the bill," Fleming said.

Beth Myers Graham, a 36-year-old mother of two and full-time environmental consultant, said the government's current $5,000 a year tax credit for child-care should be increased to reflect the real cost of care.

"Anyone who has one child knows that doesn't even cover that child's care, let alone additional children," she said.

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Harry Guerrilla said:

Working moms look to Michelle Obama for change | U.S. | Reuters









These people want companies to pay them for chosing to have a baby and want the government to pay for their childcare.

Personal responsibility, out the window.

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Arch Enemy said:

Yeah what's wrong with them, how could they possibly give into their biological instincts at a time like this!

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Harry Guerrilla said:

Working moms look to Michelle Obama for change | U.S. | Reuters

These people want companies to pay them for chosing to have a baby and want the government to pay for their childcare.

Personal responsibility, out the window.

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Hatuey said:

I think paid maternity leave should be mandated for employees who've worked for companies for a certain period of time under the condition that on their return they are not eligible for any pay raise the company might have had DURING the time they left. It's reasonable. And makes everybody happy.

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Harry Guerrilla said:

That is an excellent idea. I would not mandate it but would support that more than just a blanket "you must pay them."

I think people are sometimes under the impression that having a baby is an involuntary medical condition like a heart attack.

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Hatuey said:

Well it's been my experience that very few companies/employers offer paid maternity/paternity leave without any kind of condition. However I do think that IF companies are going to be obligated to offer maternity/paternity leave that they get something in return when the employees come back to rejoin the work force.

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Arch Enemy said:

Europeans, on average, have a great maternity leave program.

I still think we have to adopt some of those. You're fighting with human nature whenever you force someone to chose baby or no baby, or work or no work.

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Harry Guerrilla said:

How is that? I'm asking for people to think about what happens when you have children, before they have the children.

If you want to have children save enough money for those weeks you will be absent and the problem is solved.

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Arch Enemy said:

Human nature is not this whole fictional concept of time, working for money, or planning.
The body is not rational. It is based on instincts and the more you refuse the instincts the more, in most cases, it will push toward it.

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Sweden is one country which provides generous parental leave: all working parents are entitled to 16 months paid leave per child, the cost being shared between employer and State.

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Norway also has similarly generous leave. In Estonia mothers are entitled to 18 months of paid leave, starting up to 70 days before due date. Fathers are entitled to paid leave starting from the third month after birth (paid leave is however available to only one parent at a time). The amount paid depends on wages earned during previous calendar year - most will receive 100% or full wage but there is an upper limit of three times national average.

The maternal-leave only system in Bulgaria is even more generous, providing mothers with 45 days 100% paid sick leave prior the due date, 2 years paid leave, and 1 additional year of unpaid leave. The employer is obliged to restore the mother to the same position upon return to work. In addition, pregnant women and single mothers cannot be fired.

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RightinNYC said:

While the US doesn't have mandatory paid maternity leave, we do have FMLA. Further, a majority of women are offered paid maternity leave by their employers.

I'm inclined to say it should be more, but I think using the European model as an example is a pretty horrible idea.



That's just insane.

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Harry Guerrilla said:

Working moms look to Michelle Obama for change | U.S. | Reuters









These people want companies to pay them for chosing to have a baby and want the government to pay for their childcare.

Personal responsibility, out the window.

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rivrrat said:

Holy crap. It's welfare, only they're calling it something else. Wonderful.

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RightinNYC said:

While the US doesn't have mandatory paid maternity leave, we do have FMLA. Further, a majority of women are offered paid maternity leave by their employers.

I'm inclined to say it should be more, but I think using the European model as an example is a pretty horrible idea.



That's just insane.

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Rodney said:

Something else ?...afirmative action ?

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Harry Guerrilla said:

Well, I mean it is a choice after all. Why not plan ahead and pay your own way. No, that is way to much to ask.

Make your employer and the government do the planning for you. That makes much more sense.

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rivrrat said:

No, maternity leave. If you pay someone for 18 months for doing nothing, I consider that welfare.

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American said:

Arch Enemy is probably unemployed or has never paid any taxes. He seems to wallow in govt benefits to everyone regardless of the insanity of it. People like this have no idea what America is about and why people want to come here.

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