Yuppie Relief Act behind Maine's Tofu Line
/
Effective May 1st, Maine has a new family leave law, paid for by adding another 1% tax to payroll and income taxes. The law claims to be for the benefit of new parents and caregivers of sick family members, but the definitions are so broad that, essentially, anyone who wants 12 weeks paid leave can take it.
Who will benefit from this new program? The Bangor Daily News asks that question in this morning’s paper: Maine paid family leave has started. Who needs it most?, and then inadvertently answers it by profiling just one couple. I say “inadvertently”, because the BDN is a liberal rag that would never intentionally undercut a welfare program they’ve previously advocated so strongly for.
Here’s that couple’s profile, distilled from the article:
Portland residents
Already work remotely from home, so they have no need
Combined income of $200,000
Both will claim benefits
Both have already-accrued personal leave benefits they could draw on, But “don’t want to have to use their hard-earned PTO”
Maine paid family leave has started. Who needs it most?
Paid leave was not part of Tom Warner and Kathleen Kelley’s calculations when they found out in January they were having a baby.
The married couple was sure that at least one of them would have to take unpaid time off after her September due date.
They worried it would be harder to cover regular expenses like food, mortgage payments for their Portland home and car insurance.
They did the math believing they would have to take unpaid leave and hoped “to get through this without taking any kind of substantial financial hit,” said Warner, 36. “But obviously, there’s always the possibility that there could be some kind of unanticipated medical expense. There are just so many unexpected things that can happen.”
Then they heard about Maine’s new paid family leave program that not only anticipates interruptions to work, but pays for them.
Starting May 1, the Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave program will allow any employee in Maine to take up to 12 weeks off work for family or medical events such as childbirth, infant care, injury, illness or family caregiving duties — all while receiving partial wage replacement. Employers and employees each split 0.5% of a 1% payroll tax on employees’ wages to finance the fund.
For the first time, thousands of Mainers can take time off from work during life events and return to their jobs, while still getting paid a part of their wages. Over 2,000 Maine residents have already pre-applied for benefits, according to the Maine Department of Labor.
“It makes us worry a little bit less about: How are we going to make ends meet?” said Kelley, 34.
Warner and Kelley both work remotely. But with paid time off, they can be fully present with their baby at home. They look forward to figuring out his first weeks together.
Warner: “It’s going to be really nice for both of us to be there,” Warner said.
Kelley: “And I don’t want to have to use my hard-earned PTO”
So, a Maine laborer trying to support a family on $45,000 a year, a person who can’t afford to take time off at reduced pay, is being taxed to pay for the summer vacations of Portlanders earning twice as much. Does he share the enthusiasm of the program’s beneficiaries? Apparently so, because, according to the polls, he’ll be voting for still more of this, gooder and harder, this November.
Chump.