Libertarians’ Lost Voice in the Paid Leave Debate

Carrie Lukas writes:

Policy leaders are pressing the government to ensure workers have paid time off. Whether government has any businesses dictating what benefits must be included in the employment packages of Americans is rarely considered. The libertarian perspective is all but entirely absent in the discussion. That needs to change.

Our federal government has limited responsibilities, and micromanaging leave practices isn’t one of them. Even the best-intentioned policies have unintended consequences that backfire on those they are supposed to help. We need to call out policymakers who use the excuse of a safety net to justify any new rules and regulations that needlessly restrict options for all Americans.

That’s the predictable tactic employed by the Left, which is pushing extensive paid leave programs with increasing success. San Francisco’s city council created a city-wide paid leave mandate on top of California’s state paid leave program. Washington, DC just created an even more generous program.

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