The Family Act is slated for its debut on October 3, the day my son turns 30. When he was 13 weeks old, in the Paleolithic Age, I returned to my editor’s job, from a maternity leave cobbled together with Temporary Disability Insurance and my own sweat equity. Working nine to five—or later—in an office in midtown Manhattan, I rushed home each night to take back what I felt had been stolen. I felt so torn and deprived that I quit my job when he was 19 months old to freelance, struggling to find that elusive work-family balance. “Elusive” is the operative word.
We’re finally leaving the cave. And you’ll forgive me if I exult.
Today, a gaggle of family-friendly policies made it to : paid leave, affordable child care, tax relief, and a hike in the minimum wage, support for preK and professional development for those who provide it. Thus did Senator Kirsten Gillibrand deliver her baby to enhance “American opportunity,” a clever framing for a country mired in economic and social inequality. Earlier in the day, she made her pitch in a down-home speech at the :
The face of the American workforce has changed significantly with the dramatic increased participation of women…The key to a growing economy – the key to a thriving American middle class in the 21st century – is women. We have to equip more working women with the tools and the opportunities needed to achieve their best in the economy, and their best for their family. These five long overdue solutions to modernize the American workplace with policies that empower women and families – will offer women a chance to earn their way ahead in the economy and achieve their full financial potential.
Here’s her agenda, at a glance:
- , which would create an independent trust within the Social Security Administration, to be funded by employee and employer contributions (The cost: one tall latte a week)
- Fair Minimum Wage Act, which would increase the minimum wage to $10.10 in three 95-cent increments over a three-year period, and would be indexed to inflation
- Right Start Child Care and Education Act, which would double the Dependent and Child Care Tax Credit, capped at $2,400 in 1981, increasing that ceiling to $6,000 per child, up to $12,000 for two children, and making it fully refundable. It will also create a tax credit of $2,000 a year for up to three years for any college graduate who specializes in early childhood and works at least 1,200 hours a year in a child care facility.
- Providing Resources Early for Kids (PRE-K) Act, which would establish a federal-state partnership to ramp up the early childhood workforce; improve student-to-teacher ratios; and provide comprehensive services, including health screenings and nutritional assistance. The act would also expand the hours of early education, and improve the quality of programs serving children birth to three.
- Child Care Deduction, which would allow families to deduct the costs of child care from their tax liability, up to $14,000. Should they opt out, they would be able to take the above-the-line deduction, which would help mitigate the high cost of child care.
You’ll note the use of the conditional tense. This is going to be one long, heavy lift—given the proclivities of one of our political parties and the meltdown in the capitol. But the parental units are stressed, buffeted by a merciless economy, and looking longingly at the offerings of , not to mention scandalized by the . I’m banking on them.
