Speaker Kirk Cox unveiled a plan that would allow full-time mothers who work for the Commonwealth of Virginia 12 weeks maternity leave. Sounds like a sane, rational, pro-family thing to do — right?
Not to some, who question not only Cox’s conservative bona fides, but whether or not he is actually a Republican. Of course, you can’t float a softball like that over the plate with out someone taking a swing at it. Let’s start with the questions!
Does Virginia really need to have the most generous family leave plan in the nation?
Yes.
Where might the money come from to pay for this plan?
The general fund.
Is the Speaker-elect trying to compete with Democrats in his generosity with our money?
No.
Why shouldn’t state employees use accrued benefits, just as the federal employees do, when they choose to have or adopt a baby?
Because babies don’t accrue leave.
There’s a simple test here for conservatives, and it is this. If you wouldn’t do it with your own household or small business, don’t do it for government. The old VRS policy of averaging out your last three years of salary and basing one’s retirement pension on that? No one would run their small business that way.
Twelve weeks maternity leave? Standard. Operating. Procedure.
Pro-life doesn’t stop at being anti-abortion, folks.
UPDATE: So what are we really talking about here, folks? Hundreds of millions of dollars? A massive taxpayer-funded slush fund to thousands of pregnant Virginians?
Nothing in the slightest. We’re talking about approximately 40 staff dedicated to the Virginia General Assembly for a grand total of — wait for it — $500,000… and that’s if it were extended to all state employees.
Quick quiz — what’s the top reason women leave the workforce? Family and children. Offering a solution that allows working mothers to both work and be mothers? Seems like a legitimate option to any pro-life conservative.
