Matt Stoller at MYDD proposes a platform for 2006 in a post titled: "A Platform for 2006: Dream Big, Democrats." I don't see anything wrong with his list of 'Dream Big' proposals, other than the fact that it is woefully short on feminist concerns.
In my feminist view, 'dreaming big' means paying attention to the indisputable fact that the U.S. lags far behind the rest of the developed world in family support policies. Consequently, we have the highest child poverty rate in the developed world.
The caretakers of children - still almost exclusively women - share that poverty because this nation refuses to implement a policy of sharing the responsibilities inherent in so-called women's work.
While the elite women of America do just fine in equality terms, ordinary women lag far behind the women in other developed nations.
To Stoller's list, I would add the following:
Universal Childcare - Feminists have long called for a policy in which childcare centers are as free and plentiful as public parks. Women have no hope of earning equal pay for equal work while a hefty portion of every dollar they earn goes to pay for childcare. Under the current system, women are forced to settle for substandard and often unsafe childcare because quality childcare is only for those who can afford to pay for it. It should be obvious to all that if you want a nation of miserable and unproductive citizens, all you have to do is neglect and abuse the nation's children.
Guaranteed Child Support -- In America, getting fathers to pay child support is women's work. Who doesn't know women who have spent years, even decades, going to court in the battle to get a little support for children? In America, child support is often never received, or it is forthcoming long after children are grown. In a nation that genuinely cared about the well being of its children, the government would assume the job of sending out monthly child support payments. Delinquent parents would be hounded by the government instead of mothers (and some fathers). Child support checks would always be received on time; they would not be contingent upon the absent parent's ability or willingness to pay. Under this system, far fewer children would suffer in poverty and grow into adults who have been damaged by childhood poverty.
Paid Maternity/Paternity/Family Leave - The U.S. is one of only five nations that does not mandate some form of paid maternity leave. Many women are forced to pay for maternity leave by going on the nation's dismal and punitive welfare system. A policy that forces women to pay all or the vast majority of the costs of reproducing the species is a policy that permits men to freeload. Of course, we should have the far more inclusive paid family leave, but if we cannot afford that, we should begin by implementing paid maternity leave.
Family Allowances - Women pay for reproducing the species by enduring serious opportunity costs. Studies find that while the larger group of 'women' earn 76 cents to the male dollar, mothers earn far less. The last study I saw found that mothers earn 59 cents to the father's dollar. The current leaders of this nation are obsessed with forcing women to breed; a far better way to encourage women to reproduce is to share the costs. Monthly checks issued to primary caregivers of children would also go a long way toward alleviating the nation's horrendous child poverty rate.
To be continued...
Stoller's List:
Impeach Donald Rumsfeld
A Constitutional Right to Privacy
A Higher Minimum Wage
Universal Health Care
Universal Free University Education
National Mass Transit
Full Corporate Governance Reform to End Corporate Corruption
National Free Internet Access and Copyright Reform
Note: It is true that some men are the primary caregivers of children, but this is still the exception rather than the rule. Thus, I have taken the liberty of writing from a women-centered perspective. One of the many benefits of a genuinely pro family policy would be to encourage men to assume their fair share of family care work. When the price for such work is not poverty, many men will happily assume their fair share.
Comments? Questions?
Feminism Democrats Politics Equality
