The Free Market Has Failed U.S. Working Parents
Summary.
The U.S. government can and should do more to support working parents. In fact, the nation is an outlier among Western industrialized countries for its lack of adequate, federal family policies in four key areas: paid leave; affordable, quality childcare; fair work schedules; and living wages. The childcare crisis created by pandemic lockdowns has only highlighted these failures. Now is the time for workers and their employers to advocate for new laws.
Amid the grim landscape of the pandemic and the U.S. election, I see one bright light: American parents have finally realized that the government can and should do far more to support them at work and at home. I study the experiences of working parents in different countries, so friends keep asking me, “Is it this bad everywhere?” My answer is no. Absolutely not.