Turns Out Americans All Agree On Paid Leave. So Why Can’t We Get It Done?

We hear a lot about division in this country: Republican v. Democrat, Boomers v. Gen Z, urban v. rural, Facebook v. TikTok. We see circus-like stunts in school board meetings and Congressional hearings, messages and acts of extremism and hate. We see conflict over religion, race, gender, and identity. We hear about growing polarization, bowling alone, culture wars.

But, is there anything we have in common? Something that unites us across walks of life? Something we do actually agree on?

There is: Paid leave.

Most working Americans don’t have paid family leave from their jobs — in fact only one in four of us do. Child care is hard to find everywhere, and getting harder by the day. When you can find care, it often costs more than college tuition. The cost of home and community-based care for the aging and people with disabilities is astronomical, and waiting lists are long. School ends in the afternoon and summers are often an impossible scramble. And more and more of us are caring for children and parents and family members all at the same time. And every single one of us is going to need to give or receive care.

Overall, 85% of battleground voters favor [paid leave], and we saw record support and intensity from just about everyone, whether young voters of color, suburban moms, even low-turnout Gen Z and millennials, and 76% of Republicans.

Nearly all Americans agree that this is something that needs fixing. Polling shows what many of us know anecdotally: that issues like paid leave, child care, and long-term care are top of voters’ minds, and they want candidates with answers. This shared opinion cuts across party lines and demographics. Recent polling by Lake Research in battleground states showed overwhelming and historic levels of support for paid family and medical leave. Overall, 85% of battleground voters favored it, and we saw record support and intensity from just about everyone, whether young voters of color, suburban moms, even low-turnout Gen Z and millennials, and 76% of Republicans. What’s more, we found voters across the board are more likely to vote for a candidate who favors making the super wealthy and big corporations pay a fairer share of taxes to support investments in child care, paid leave, and aging and disability care.

We are one of the only countries in the world without any form of a national paid leave policy. We invest less in care for children, the aging, and people with disabilities than nearly all other wealthy nations. This leaves many people making difficult decisions about whether to have more children — or whether to have them at all. And older Americans — and Americans with disabilities — struggling with crippling health care costs. At the moment, we’re going over an unprecedented child care cliff as federal stabilization funds dry up, and millions of families struggle to find care or afford it as costs rise even more than usual, losing hours at work as a result. The lack of paid leave and care costs families billions of dollars each year. This is more than a “kitchen table” issue, this is the whole house.

The numbers capture a collective scream that had already reached a fever pitch in a pandemic. Some interim measures and policies were put in place during Covid, like temporary paid leave provisions, an expansion of the Child Tax Credit, and major investments in care. And guess what? They helped tremendously, reducing poverty levels and saving jobs and lives. But now, for the most part, that investment and infrastructure has crumbled again without a permanent policy in place, and many Americans are back to a daily routine held together by double and triple shifts, dwindling savings, and the sheer will of parents and caregivers.

These are serious problems — in fact, these are crises — but they have solutions. Just a couple of years ago, the United States was only a vote or two away from a profound sea change when Congress nearly passed investments in paid leave and care in the Build Back Better Act. The legislation stalled, but it’s clear that voters consider it urgent, unfinished business. So here’s the critical question: Do your federal candidates agree?

Everyone should have the freedom and ability to take care of themselves and their loved ones without losing a paycheck or their job. But it’s not enough if you or your family have these protections — when others don’t, it still impacts you. If you have paid leave, but your grown child doesn’t, they might not be able to care for you as you age or when illness strikes. If you have paid leave, but the teacher in your school doesn’t, your child might be more likely to get sick. If you have paid leave and care for your children and your parents secured, but workers in your company don’t, you’re going to lose talent, and you’re going to lose profits. Meanwhile we all stand to benefit from these policies: We know from research that passing paid leave and care would yield millions of jobs, billions in wages, and trillions in GDP.

We’ve made a lot of progress in this country over the last few years, from infrastructure investments to lowering drug prices, but working families are still finding it hard to make ends meet and there are problems to solve. But tune out the people who would have you believe that Americans don’t agree on anything. Freedom and family are values we share, and passing paid leave and care is a moral, economic, and political imperative. We do agree on this — and our time is now.

*If this moves you, there’s so much you can do: Contact your candidates and elected officials and voice your support for a national paid leave program, and ask if they agree. On our website you can do this in two clicks. Better yet, call or ask in person. Vote in every election. Share your story. And follow Paid Leave for All and our partners on social media for more opportunities.

Dawn Huckelbridge is the founding director of Paid Leave for All and Paid Leave for All Action. She has also held leadership positions at Supermajority, American Bridge, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, People For the American Way, and the Barbara Lee Family Foundation. She graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a master’s degree in gender and social policy and studied political science and communications at Northwestern University.