Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley, and Hillary Clinton
Paid family leave got some attention at Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate, with Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O'Malley speaking forcefully for the policy, though CNN's Dana Bash
did her best to turn it into a terrifying, crazy fringe left idea:
BASH: Carly Fiorina, the first female CEO of a Fortune 50 company, argues, if the government requires paid leave, it will force small businesses to, quote, "hire fewer people and create fewer jobs." What do you say not only to Carly Fiorina, but also a small-business owner out there who says, you know, I like this idea, but I just can't afford it?
CLINTON: Well, I'm surprised she says that, because California has had a paid leave program for a number of years. And it's...
BASH: It's on the federal level.
CLINTON: Well, but all -- well, on a state level, a state as big as many countries in the world. And it has not had the ill effects that the Republicans are always saying it will have. And I think this is -- this is typical Republican scare tactics. We can design a system and pay for it that does not put the burden on small businesses.
Let's talk about
California.
Under the California program, created in 2002, workers pay 1 percent of their wages to cover both their state disability insurance and paid family leave insurance, which provides 55 percent of an employee’s weekly salary up to about $1,000 a week. New parents can take up to six weeks of family leave; pregnant women can also take time under the program to recover from childbirth.
And Clinton was right when she said this program
hasn't hurt businesses:
- Most employers report that PFL had either a “positive effect” or “no noticeable effect” on productivity (89 percent), profitability/performance (91 percent), turnover (96 percent), and employee morale (99 percent).
- Small businesses were less likely than larger establishments (those with more than 100 employees) to report any negative effects.
But Bash wasn't having it, so let's keep going below the fold.
BASH: But Secretary -- Secretary Clinton, even many people who agree with you might say, look, this is very hard to do, especially in today's day and age. There are so many people who say, "Really? Another government program? Is that what you're proposing? And at the expense of taxpayer money?"
CLINTON: Well, look, you know, when people say that -- it's always the Republicans or their sympathizers who say, "You can't have paid leave, you can't provide health care." They don't mind having big government to interfere with a woman's right to choose and to try to take down Planned Parenthood. They're fine with big government when it comes to that. I'm sick of it. [...]
We should not be paralyzed -- we should not be paralyzed by the Republicans and their constant refrain, "big government this, big government that," that except for what they want to impose on the American people. I know we can afford it, because we're going to make the wealthy pay for it. That is the way to get it done.
Clinton's exactly right. We shouldn't be afraid to be bold to get important things done. (Also, the California program is paid for through a payroll deduction, so Bash can pound sand on that front.)
Sanders followed up:
Every other major country on Earth, every one, including some small countries, say that when a mother has a baby, she should stay home with that baby. We are the only major country. That is an international embarrassment that we do not provide family -- paid family and medical leave.
Second of all, the secretary is right. Republicans tell us we can't do anything except give tax breaks to billionaires and cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. That's not what the American people want.
Good on them not just for advocating an important policy but for pushing back forcefully against Bash's Republican framing.
