One of the incontrovertible realities of the socialist do-gooders in Washington is that any legislation they pass has a direct cost, and a down-the-road indirect cost. Sometimes these indirect costs are the result of so-called unintended consequences, but in the end we find out that they were actually part of the grand design. One such example is the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 signed into law by Bill Clinton.
Slick Willie had run on a campaign promise to require employers to provide up to twelve weeks of UNPAID leave to care for family or medical needs every twelve months under the pretentious idea that it was needed to allow employees to balance family life and work life. And who could object? It was free, right?
As I said, these schemes are usually a small part of a grand design.
UNPAID leave has now become PAID leave. And contrary to what today’s do-gooders tell you about this investment–a word that always means government-controlled spending and bigger government–this next step in the grand design won’t be paid by employers, it will be paid by employees.
Following the lead of California, New Jersey and Rhode Island, New York has joined the PAID family and medical leave movement–and the cost to employees is growing.
Under the legislation, New York has the authority to deduct funds to pay for bureaucratic nightmare from every worker’s paycheck–even employees who work for private-sector companies that already provide PAID leave as part of their company benefits. In other words: if you work for an employer who provides the benefit, you have to pay for others who don’t work for such an employer.
Redistribution of wealth at its finest, don’t you think? But that’s not all; in the words of those late-night infomercials… WAIT! THERE’S MORE!
Hillary is running on a pledge to nationalize PAID leave if she becomes president, and she recently revealed how she plans to pay for this and other “investments”–another code word that means more taxes. And how much will this investment be?
Try $1 trillion dollars in new taxes. And you thought Bernie Sanders’ free college scheme was expensive.
David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative, your source for opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” David is also a contributor to RedState.com.
His daily commentary is nationally syndicated via Salem Radio Network.
