Like so many other things, when it comes to paid sick leave, it really matters whether you're at the top or the bottom of the income distribution. If you're in the top 10 percent of earners, you're overwhelmingly likely to get paid sick days in addition to your high wages. If you're in the bottom 10 percent of earners, you have just a one in five chance. That means that the less you can afford to give up a day's pay, the more likely you are to have to do so if you or your child gets sick.
Opponents of paid sick leave argue that it will be a job killer. But that's not true, Elise Gould writes:
The first jurisdiction to set a paid sick days standard was San Francisco, where employers have been required to offer earned paid leave since 2007. Fears that the law would impede job growth were never realized. In fact, during the last five years, employment in San Francisco grew twice as fast as in neighboring counties that had no sick leave policy. San Francisco’s job growth was faster even in the food service and hospitality sector, which is dominated by small businesses and viewed as vulnerable to additional costs.
But when you look at a graph like the one above, you understand why it's been so hard to pass paid leave: The people who make the policies already have sick leave. So, most likely, does everyone they know. No wonder it doesn't feel urgent to them.