Reply #14: Your question makes me sadder than the issue [View All]

[GliderGuider]

So many people don't remember when government was by and for the people.

In Canada the benefits are part of a federal Employment Insurance plan. Employees and employers both pay into the plan. Employees draw from it when needed. If you're off on parental (maternity or paternity) leave then you get a cheque from the federal government.
In addition to the paid benefits, an employer must -- by law -- hold your job for you for up to two years.
It's far from perfect. In fact, the right-wing obsession with punishing people who need social services has led to changes in eligibility so that many people paying into the plan cannot collect from it.

The real cost in the States comes later. When babies spend so f-ing little time with their parents in those first months they get messed up. They have trouble bonding and that leads to endless problems.

I'm convinced that this is a major contributor to the high rates of violence among young men. The problems with young women are sublter but no less prevalent.