Noteworthy News

Paid family leave
Working families scored a victory in California with the passage of a paid family leave law. The new law will provide eligible workers with up to 55 percent of their pay when they take time off work to care for a sick family member or the birth or adoption of a child. The program will be funded by employee payroll deductions averaging $26 per year. Despite the fact that workers will fund the program, employers are complaining about the costs they will incur administering the leave and temporarily replacing workers.

Safety net lets many families fall through the cracks
An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) of the social safety net and its ability to alleviate poverty among mother-only families shows that policy changes in the last few years have made it less effective. Specifically, EPI showed that because more funds have been funneled into anti-poverty programs, like the earned income tax credit (EITC) that are tied to work, when the economy slows and women lose their jobs they are no longer eligible and therefore receive less assistance. Making matters worse, there is a good chance they will not be eligible for unemployment benefits either. In 1980, means-tested benefits reduced poverty by about 15 percent. In 2001 however, poverty in mother-only families was only reduced by about half that much.

Republicans and the economy
In a November article, the Wall Street Journal considered what effect a Republican House and Senate would have on the economy. If they are correct, we can expect Republicans to try to make the Bush tax cut permanent and to push for other charges in the tax code that would further erode its fairness and progressivity. In addition, we can look for attempts at electricity deregulation, increased defense spending and a prescription drug plan tailored to the drug industry.