Second Thoughts in NY (family leave) and Wisconsin (health care)

At Olympia Business Watch Don Brunell takes note of the New York legislature's adjournment without passing paid family leave. It was a matter of dollars and sense.

There were many versions of the paid leave circulating around Albany. They were all very costly.  Here is a sample of the proposals:

• One would impose 12 weeks of disability insurance benefits for family leave on ALL businesses for employees of newborns, families adopting children and caregivers of sick parents, spouses and children.
• Another would provide 13 weeks of leave and would have increased the maximum disability benefit from $170 to $550 per week by 2010 and would have permanently indexed the benefit to one-half of the state's average monthly wage.

As for the proposal to pay for it.  Workers would have to pay a mandatory 45 cents per week payroll tax...

In Wisconsin, support for the so-called "Healthy Wisconsin" program proposed last legislative session also seems to be waning. The State Policy Blog reports candidates are in "full retreat" on the pricey "universal health care" plan. Dollars and sense again. The blog links to this story in the Wisconsin State Journal.

"The issue is money and right now, not many legislative candidates are talking about big, broad programs simply because we all understand that practically speaking, there's no money," said Jim Holperin, a new Democratic Senate candidate who praised the Healthy Wisconsin plan but said his focus was on reviving the economy.

Few would deny the importance of improving health care access and affordability, or for helping employees work through difficult times, but the lessons being learned in Wisconsin and New York (they're not the only places) should be heeded here.