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Social Security and paid parental leave explained
Social Security’s long term financial health is in peril without congressional reform. Some might find it curious then that lawmakers, including GOP Senators Marco Rubio, Mitt Romney, and Joni Ernst are lobbying for a paid-leave plan, which would allow working parents to collect Social Security benefits for 12 weeks after a baby’s birth. The caveat is they would have to either delay their eventual retirement for 25 weeks or retire with no delay but with a cut in benefits. Proponents claim it is cost neutral to the Social Security Trust Fund and requires no new taxes or borrowing. Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby, writing this op-ed in The Patriot Post, comes out strongly against the idea by noting paid leave has fast been becoming a standard employer provided benefit. Jacoby opposes entangling that process with Social Security, quoting the character Wimpy’s famous line from the Popeye cartoon, “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” Read Jacoby’s full op-ed here.
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