4 ms·

Who exactly is paying for this? I honestly don't see how something like this is economically viable or desirable.

• indeyets 13y ago
  State does
• craigyk 13y ago
  I'm not sure exactly. Is the pay at 100%? In California you might be paying already into the state disability program, in which case you are automatically entitled to six weeks of leave at ~50% pay... if your employer is awesome they might cover the rest (so Yahoo might be covering ~70% of the total cost rather than 100%). As so why it is economically desirable: making/raising kids is a HUGE investment in time and money, but without children and involved parents you're looking at disaster 15-20 years down the line. It's desirable/viable in the same way that buying gas is desirable/viable to making your car run.
  • conjecTech 13y ago
    Then how have we been able to get by without this for the vast majority of human history? How has America been able to create and sustain the world's largest and most vibrant economy without such policies?
• rbehrends 13y ago
  Typically, it is is paid through taxes or the health insurance system. Assuming parental leave of 1 year, this amortizes over a working life of 45 years to a little over 2% (while some people will not work or will not work for all 45 years of their lives between 20 and 65, a corresponding fraction will not take parental leave; in fact, if the lower income parent takes parental leave, it's generally less). This pays off because we know that the first two years are absolutely crucial for the development of a child; parental leave pays off in the form of more productive adults and lower criminality. It is well worth the investment even from a purely actuarial perspective and if you disregard the moral component.