The program would provide six months of leave for each parent upon the birth or adoption of a child. This leave would be paid at 100% of the worker’s regular salary, ensuring families maintain financial stability during this critical period.

Both mothers and fathers would receive equal benefits, recognizing that all parents need time to bond with and care for their children. Parents could take their leave consecutively or concurrently, allowing families to customize their approach based on their specific needs. A single parent would receive the full six months.

Two-parent families could arrange twelve total months of care—for example, with one parent taking the first six months and the other taking the following six months, providing a full year of parent-led care during the crucial first year of life.

Unlike many existing benefits that depend on employer generosity, this program would create a universal right for all workers regardless of company size, industry, or wage level. The freelance photographer, the retail cashier, the corporate executive, and the factory worker would all receive the same proportional benefit, democratizing access to parental leave across the economic spectrum.

The program would be funded through equal contributions from workers and employers, collected throughout a worker’s career rather than only during parenthood. This approach spreads costs broadly and equitably, making the program sustainable and affordable for all participants.

The low cost of this program, at just 2.5% of a worker’s wages, also lends itself to an even better funding model, requiring the employer to fund this program by themselves. The split cost model is offered as a way to promote creativity in the way that new and innovative programs could be funded.

Consider a worker earning $20 per hour—approximately $41,600 annually. Six months of full salary replacement would cost $20,800 per child. Assuming this worker has two children during their career, their total lifetime benefit would equal $41,600.

A worker having more than two children would still receive the same benefit for each additional child; there would be no limit.

As of 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau counted about 84.33 million families in the United States. About 40% of these families have children. This means that, on average, there are 0.78 kids per family in the U.S. In 2022, American families had an average of 1.94 of their own children under the age of 18, a decrease from 2.33 children in 1960.

Using these averages, the cost estimates we are using for this program are likely highly exaggerated. Over time, adjustments would be made to ensure that contributions to the trust fund better align with actual costs.

Instead of concentrating this cost during the brief period of parenthood, the program spreads it across a typical 40-year working lifetime. This approach transforms a significant short-term expense into a manageable long-term investment.