Pregnant people in New York would have 40 hours of paid leave to attend prenatal medical appointments under a new proposal by Gov. Kathy Hochul after the state’s legislative session kicked off this week.

The Democrat’s plan to expand the state’s paid family leave policy, which would need to be approved by the state Legislature, aims to expand access to high-quality prenatal care and prevent maternal and infant deaths in New York, an issue that especially affects low-income and minority communities.

The U.S. infant mortality rate, a measure of how many babies die before they reach their first birthday, is worse than other high-income countries, which experts have attributed to poverty, inadequate prenatal care and other possibilities. The U.S. rate rose 3% in 2022 — the largest increase in two decades, according to a 2023 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

  • chitak166@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    I think this is viable if we do it with taxes.

    It’s non-viable if you expect all businesses to provide it for their employees because most businesses literally cannot afford it.

    • ElderWendigo
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      11 months ago

      If those businesses can’t afford it, they only exist because of exploitation. Maybe those businesses should fail.

      • chitak166@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        they only exist because of exploitation.

        Not true. I can tell you’ve never run a business.

        • ElderWendigo
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          11 months ago

          Not true. I can tell you weren’t paying attention in your economics or history studies.

          • chitak166@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            How are food trucks supposed to stay in business while paying employees who aren’t even working?

    • derf82@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      I made that exact point in another post. Most countries have paid family leave and some sick leave as a government benefit, which both allows broader benefits, and can even allow businesses to hire temporary help. They also mandate lots of leave generally, so the remaining employees are not burnt out with extra work and little time off.