Swimming against the tide (thank goodness): Chip flagged this New York Times article from over the weekend on the move for more paid family and sick leave.

As I have been discussing ad naseum here and on both of my podcasts, the Family and Medical Leave Act -- our meager federal law legitimizing leave (not paid leave, though) -- is under some attack, so it's great to see some counter-action. The story focuses primary on the fantastic group Take Back Your Time, which is pushing (successfully) for five weeks of paid leave in Washington State. (It sounds somewhat similar to the successful California law.) If you read the article all the way through, you get a rosy glow -- leave is painted as a concern that crosses party lines, something that everyone (with the very notable exception of businesses) thinks is a good idea.

The reality, as we're seeing with FMLA, is not that simple. Groups like Take Back Your Time and the efforts in California and Washington are up against a culture of work in the U.S. that is extraordinarily powerful. And with the federal government apparently leaning on the side of giving more leeway, not less, to the businesses driving that culture, I'm not as optimistic after reading the story as I should be. But I'd love to be proved wrong.

Weirdest line in the Times story:

Catherine H. Myers, executive director of the Family and Home Network, based in Virginia, said a preferable solution, instead of enacting mandates, would be for parents to quit or to reduce their paid employment to spend more time caring for their children. "When we consider what our children really need, how can we afford not to give them our time?" Ms. Myers said.

This strikes me that this is a bizarre argument against liberal leave policies. If I'm reading it correctly, they're telling parents that if the draconian conditions they work under are utter family-unfriendly, they should quit rather than press for change. Obviously, I'm all for at-home parenthood, but I'd rather people not base their decision to stay home on the utter inflexibility of the American workplace.