> The majority of the population over time will use parental leave if it is available. I agree with this. However: > b) It distributes resources from higher t

> The majority of the population over time will use parental leave if it is available. I agree with this. However: > b) It distributes resources from higher to lower earners, depending on how the obligation is structured there is usually a progressive taxation element which ensures a certain minimum is available. This is irrelevant to whether or not parental leave is a ponzi scheme. > a) It moves resources from your own pre-child and post-parental leave career to the period when the child is born. Many people who can easily fund a year of not working from their total career earnings cannot do so in their peak child-bearing years and there aren't any efficient ways of using saving or borrowing to shift that money either. For these people, parental leave uses the risk pooling and payment guarantee capabilities of the state to effectively borrow cheaply against their lifetime earnings. Parental leave’s true cost is more than just the income lost. It’s the labor required to raise the new children. If we say parents cannot just stay at home (in which case parental leave is unnecessary) then the people required to sustain the new children will be exponential in growth.