Originally published by Mark Weinberger on LinkedIn: Paid Family Leave is a Work Incentive

President Trump delivered his proposed 2018 budget to Congress recently, while other policies have received more attention, the blueprint includes an ambitious proposal for paid family leave.

Paid family leave is a concept that would afford more people the opportunity to go to work.

A growing economy is the key to more and better jobs. The time for a dialogue on economic policies such as Paid Family Leave, which would enable parents to join and stay in the workforce, has come. The proposal requires states to provide new mothers and fathers with six weeks of paid time off. The cost of the proposal is offset by changes to the unemployment insurance program.

I have a long record of being an advocate for reining in re-distributional entitlements; having served as Chief of Staff of the Presidents 1994 Entitlement and Tax Reform Commission (the “Kerrey-Danforth” commission) and having joined the board of the Concord Coalition. So, why would I consider supporting a policy that would require states to assist working families with paid leave? Paid family leave is a concept that would afford more people the opportunity to go to work, and stay in work, avoiding the necessity to otherwise rely on government assistance programs. It is an investment, a recognition of the modern realities of working families, and a key to the country’s economic future.

While I cannot comment on the politics of the plan, as the CEO of a professional services firm that works with employers of all sizes, I see firsthand the difficulties families face in having to care for a new child and handle work responsibilities

Consider the numbers. Today, a record 40 percent of American households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for their families. Across the country, more than 80 percent of the 12 million single-parent families in 2015 were headed by single mothers, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And in 2016, there were more than 14 million households with two employed parents – over 60 percent of married-couple families with kids – the Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported. Yet, at the same time, just 14 percent of civilian workers have access to paid family leave. Parents are increasingly having to choose between their children, or their jobs. The truth is that we simply cannot succeed, as a country, when we are leaving so much of our workforce behind. Paid family leave is one way to address the issue.