More unintended consequences
RealClearPolitics - Articles - Working Mothers Need the Free Market, Too
“Why,” Elizabeth asked, “has so little been done on issues like paid maternity leave; safe, affordable child care; and flexible work schedules?”I understand her pain. Elizabeth has a lot of responsibility: a full-time job, plus two young kids at home. I would find it overwhelming. But does that mean the government should impose leave, day care, and flex-time policies on employers or make taxpayers bear the cost for the choices women make?
All these well-intended laws have unintended consequences, and the consequences are usually worse than the problem they were meant to solve. When governments require companies to provide paid maternity leave and other benefits, many firms avoid hiring women. How is that good for women?
How is it that these people don’t see the consequences of their actions? If you essentially penalize companies for hiring someone who is disabled, or black, or yellow, or white, or a woman, then naturally companies are going to avoid the class of people they are being penalized for hiring. Why don’t the politicians see this? Ahh, here’s the answer:
People who risk their own capital make better decisions than a politician who imposes policies on others with little risk to himself.
It’s easy to win at the stock market if you use someone else’s money to invest, but you get to keep all the profits.