While it certainly is fair to ask questions about the numbers involved in the paid family leave program under consideration by our Legislature, there is no question that, whatever the costs, they will, in the long-run, be outweighed by benefits provided under such a policy.
Secure in the knowledge that paid family leave will be available when needed, young working families will find Vermont a more attractive place in which to take up residence, bringing with them the skills we sorely need in order to continue Vermont’s pathway to prosperity. Even individuals who never draw directly upon paid family leave will benefit indirectly from the increased economic activity and social stability that paid family leave has been widely demonstrated to provide.
Furthermore, paid family leave can allow a family’s resources to extend further in caring for a family member’s temporary health challenges without the expense of hired nursing care.
An added benefit of paid family leave lies in strengthening family bonds and relieving some of the emotional stress and guilt associated with conflicts between work and caring for a loved one. There are actual costs attached to such conflicts when workers are forced to stay on the job even though they feel they should be at home. Productivity suffers and the workers themselves may have ill health effects from the associated stress.
Virtually everywhere else in the world, paid family leave is the norm. The U.S. is one of only three countries where it is not. Only four out of fifty U.S. states offer paid family leave. If our objective is to attract and hold a young workforce in Vermont, generous paid family leave is an essential incentive to make this small, wintery state competitive.
We cannot afford to be cheap about this fundamental benefit when our near neighbors, New York and New Jersey, have already outpaced Vermont in adopting paid family leave.