Poll: Should the U.S. Have Paid Maternity Leave?

By Brian Slupski

President Obama said the U.S. should offer paid maternity leave to new mothers.

"Work gives us a sense of place and dignity as well as income and it is critically important," Obama said at the White House Summit on Working Families. "But family is also the bedrock of our lives and we don't want a society in which folks are having to make a choice between those two things."

The National Post reported that Obama pointed out that nearly every other industrialized country has paid maternity leave. For example, French women receive 16 weeks paid leave and that increases to 26 weeks for a third child.

Under the 1993 Family Medical Leave Act most U.S. workers can receive 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family or medical reasons, the Christian Science Monitor reported.

"Many women can't even get a paid day off to give birth – now that's a pretty low bar," U.S. News and World Report quoted Obama. "That, we should be able to take care of."

U.S. News and World Report wrote that Obama praised California, Rhode Island and New Jersey for creating a state benefit. Although the president has not proposed a similar national program, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. has pending legislation that would set up a government fund through Social Security that would be paid for by contributions from employees and employers.

DeLauro said the 0.2 percent tax on wages would come to about 2 cents of every $10.

Let us know what you think: Is this an issue government should tackle? Should we pay for such a benefit through a payroll tax as DeLauro suggests or should we simply mandate companies to offer the benefit? What do you think?