鈪?/p>
.
闃呰鐞嗚В
(2018路
鍖椾含鍥涗腑鏈熶腑
)
Only two countries in the advanced world provide no guarantee for paid leave from work to
care
for
a
newborn
child.Last
spring
one
of
the
two
锛?/p>
Australia
锛?/p>
gave
up
the
bad
distinction
by
setting up paid family leave starting in 2011.I wasn
鈥?/p>
t surprised when this didn
鈥?/p>
t make the news
here in the United States
鈥?/p>
we
鈥?/p>
re now the only wealthy country without such a policy.
The United States does have one explicit family policy
锛?/p>
the Family and Medical Leave Act
锛?/p>
passed in 1993.It entitles workers to as much as 12 weeks
鈥?/p>
unpaid leave for care of a newborn or
dealing
with
a
family
medical
problem.Despite
the
modesty
of
the
benefit
锛?/p>
the
Chamber
of
Commerce
and
other
business
groups
fought
it
bitterly
锛?/p>
describing
it
as
鈥?/p>
government-
run
personnel management
鈥?/p>
and a
鈥?/p>
dangerous precedent(
鍏堜緥
)
鈥?/p>
.
In fact
锛?/p>
every step of the way
锛?/p>
as
(usually) Democratic leaders have tried to introduce work-
family balance measures into the law
锛?/p>
business groups have been strongly opposed.
As Yale law professor Anne Alstott argues
锛?/p>
justifying parental support depends on defining(
瀹?/p>
涔?/p>
) the family as a social good that
锛?/p>
in some sense
锛?/p>
society must pay for.Parents are burdened in
many
ways
in
their
lives
锛?/p>
there
is
鈥?/p>
no
exit
鈥?/p>
when
it
comes
to
children.Society
expects
鈥?/p>
and
needs
鈥?/p>
parents
to
provide
their
children
with
continuity
of
care.And
society
expects
鈥?/p>
and
needs
鈥?/p>
parents to persist in their roles for 18 years
锛?/p>
or longer if needed.
While
most
parents
do
this
out
of
love
锛?/p>
there
are
public
punishments
for
not
providing
care.What parents do
锛?/p>
in other words
锛?/p>
is of deep concern to the state
锛?/p>
for the obvious reason that
caring
for
children
is
not
only
morally
urgent
but
important
to
the
future
of
society.To
classify
parenting as a personal choice for which there is no collective responsibility is not merely to ignore
the social benefits of good parenting; really
锛?/p>
it is to steal those benefits because they accrue(
绱Н
)
to
the
whole
of
society
as
today
鈥?/p>
s
children
become
tomorrow
鈥?/p>
s
citizens.In
fact
锛?/p>
by
some
estimates
锛?/p>
the value of parental investments in children
锛?/p>
investments of time and money
锛?/p>
is equal
to
20
锛?/p>
30%
of
GDP.If
these
investments
bring
huge
social
benefits
鈥?/p>
as
they
clearly
do
鈥?/p>
the
benefits of providing more social support for the family should be that much clearer.
1.What do we learn about paid family leave according to Paragraph 1?
A.It came as a surprise when Australia adopted the policy.
B.Setting up this policy made Australia less influential.
C.It has now become a hot topic in the United States.
D.No such policy is applied in the United States.