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Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Pinky Winky and the FMLA
 It has been far too long between posts. I have several excuses, of course, mainly the birth of our first child. She has brought more joy, laughter, and googlie baby talk to our home than I ever thought possible. God is indeed a keeper of promises.That said, several interesting political thoughts have crossed my mind since Pinky (not her real name) was born. I'd like to blog for a while about the way government can help or hinder the family, starting with ... The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 The years 1992-1994 may give us the best glimpse of what is possible in this country when Democrats rule the roost. Clinton was elected in '92 and came to power with a Congress full of Democrats. He made several important legislative moves in those first few months including the signing of the Brady Bill, an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, strengthening of environmental regulations, the NVRA (Motor Voter Act), and the failed (but nonetheless righteous) attempt to bring universal health care to America. While all of these laws made America a better place, none has had a bigger impact on my life than the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  FMLA clearly states:employers must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:While Republicans often trumpet their concern for "family values" it was indeed the Democrats who made it possible for me to be at home with my wife for two weeks before the birth, and for four weeks after our baby was born. It was, by far, one of the best times of my life and I have no doubt that having to trudge off to work every morning to keep my job would have made it much less wonderful, if not downright depressing. FMLA is an example of how federal legislation can change our lives for the better. Something to keep in mind this November.  
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3 Comments:
Great post Foley! I couldn't agree more about how nice it is to be at home for a while after the birth of your child. Just when you want to lose faith in the Democratic party, it's nice to remember some of the good things that they have done lately.
Great to see you posting again!
Tom Purl
RSW -
You asked the wrong question. We are hippie weirdos - we had our child at home, and paid for almost everything ourselves.
However, we definitely would have had health insurance if we had chosen to use the hospital (or if we had needed transport) but only because my wife takes individual coverage from her employer.
To cover my family (me, wife, child) through my employer it would cost me around $300 a paycheck. That's $600 a month - $7200 a year! That is absolutely insane.
Check the next post for the antidote to that nonsense.
Tom - I miss you guys! Give Maggie a smoochy for me. Aww!
Wow. I'm a little shocked by what I just found out.
rsw - I took your advice and logged onto the Health Alliance site. I got quotes for myself, me and pinky, and the whole family.
For the whole family the best individual health plan is $585 a month. Which is actually less than I'd be paying though work, with their contributions.
This makes no sense to me, but I'm glad to have the info. When I tried to get coverage for only myself it was a bad deal - $200 for the best plan, vs. around $100 through my employer. But boy, once you start adding people to the plan it becomes a lot cheaper to go it alone.
Interesting.
Of course with AllKids I can get individual coverage through the employer and keep Pinky on AllKids. Saves us lots of money. :)
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