Monday, May 12, 2008
The have-kids vs. the have-nots Plus: Log Cabin Republicans will get what they deserve; David Foster Wallace parody is "viscerally painful."
Apr 11, 2000 | Nonparent trap?
BY RACHEL ELSON
(04/06/00)
I'm delighted to see someone who finally seems to understand this "family-friendly" policy for what it is: employers giving their employees perks for nothing more than using their genitals in the approved way. Should gay women be paid less than straight women because they are less likely to reproduce? Should disabled women be paid less than the able-bodied because they may either not be able to have children without incurring risk to their lives or not want to pass on their disability? Can no one see where this might lead?
-- Janis Cortese
I agree with Elinor Burkett in many ways. As a person who chose to remain childless, I feel that often my choice is not respected. If a co-worker needs to leave on time (i.e., not stay late to finish a project) to see his or her child play soccer, I believe that my desire to leave on time to drink tequila is of equal merit. If you can't take on all of the responsibilities of having kids, don't have any.
-- Neil Scott
There are more than just a few shortcomings in Elinor Burkett's arguments. For example, the Family Medical Leave Act does not just benefit parents with sick kids, it benefits anyone with a sick family member. Of the people I know who have taken leave to care for sick family members in the past year, not a single one was caring for a kid. In the case of a lady who had to care for her husband, the burden of her work was taken on by a pregnant woman!
Burkett also makes the mistake of assuming that the family benefits only help women. Guess what? In my generation, dads are also taking time off and leaving early to catch their kids' Little League games. I suspect that this trend will continue. Most of the conversations I have had about day care were with men.
As for the tax breaks, we got a much bigger tax break by buying a home than by having kids. Last time I checked, anyone with a big enough income could buy a home.
Society would be better served if Burkett would turn her skills toward improving the lot of the poor, rather than joining the already-too-long parade of victims.
-- Robyn Anderson
Burkett seems ignorant of the fact that well-educated individuals like her (presumably valuable members of the white-collar workforce) are not produced in a vacuum. They are generally the products of stable, financially secure families as well as government policies instituted over the past 50 years or so to make higher education more broadly accessible. For a corporation or the government to enact policies that encourage such workers to reproduce is an investment in society's future which also helps to ensure a continuous supply of labor.
Contrary to her assertion that childless individuals and couples are saving companies and the government money, choosing not to reproduce and pass on the fruits of one's own opportunities will result in a long-term "brain drain" in the United States and other Western nations.
-- James Hagan
Rather than pitting parents against nonparents, we ought to be asking how we can best balance work/life issues for both groups. After all, we all have a life outside of the office.
-- David P. Graf
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