The pandemic busted all notions of work-life balance, to the benefit of working moms

Abby McCloskey, Dallas Morning News, December 5, 2021

“It used to be cutting edge to provide paid leave and childcare benefits, or to provide private spaces and breaks for women to pump.  To be sure, such policies still remain the exception and not the norm.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than one in four parents has any type of formal family leave policy from their company following the birth or adoption of a child.  Many breastfeeding or pumping rooms are still dank, depressing closets if they exist at all.

But now parents are now asking for a more fundamental restructure of what work looks like and how to blend work and family life.  Specifically, the vast majority of workers  - regardless of gender or age - are asking for increased flexibility, with parents particularly keen on it. A recent CNBC poll found that half of Americans are considering quitting their job, with working parents twice as likely to want to leave their current job. “

Without Roe, The GOP Must Take Responsibility To Care For More Babies

Abby McCloskey, The Dallas Morning News, December 3, 2021

“At its simplest level, more restrictions on abortion will result in more babies born. Research shows that many will be born into uncomfortable situations, where they were not planned or into families that are not financially or relationally secure and who will struggle to provide a high level of care. While abortion used to be only loosely related to income, in recent decades abortions increasingly have become concentrated among impoverished women. In the most recent survey of abortion patients conducted by the Guttmacher Institute, nearly half of abortions are performed for women living below the poverty line as of 2014 (up from 30% in 1987), and 75% were to women considered poor or low-income.”

Politico Inaugural Women Rule: The Exchange

Last week, POLITICO launched Women Rule: The Exchange. Women Rule: The Exchange is a membership program that convenes and connects women in positions of leadership to unpack critical questions facing women across America as they shape our nation’s “new normal.” Members meet quarterly to confront today’s most pressing challenges, sharing insights, best practices, and solutions from diverse perspectives, including public and private sectors, academia, and civil society. Learn more about Women Rule: The Exchange here.

On the heels of our inaugural meeting as we talked to women leaders in politics, policy and business about how they are responding to this moment. The past two years have upended not only the way women work, but also what women expect and demand from their workplaces. How should businesses, governments and workers take advantage of this opportunity to reinvent — to rethink what wasn’t working and to build better working environments for women moving forward?

With Biden's $3.5T bill on ice, let's chisel

Abby McCloskey, Dallas News, October 17, 2021

Most Americans (60%) are glad for the “strategic pause,” according to the bipartisan group No Labels. Just because we’ve spent trillions of dollars in COVID-19 relief doesn’t mean that trillions more can be printed without consequence, for inflation or otherwise. The corporate tax hike is the opposite of what should happen in an economic recovery, which even liberal economists acknowledge will be paid for in part by workers.

There’s a wide open question about how these programs are paid for beyond the 10-year budget window (when our entitlement programs are also on track to collapse, if not before). And many of the proposed programs are a heavy-handed big government approach to problems that would benefit from greater levels of innovation, targeting and choice.

But problems with the reconciliation package don’t negate the need to better support America’s working families.

Why Texas Pro Life Republicans Should Support Paid Family Leave

Abby McCloskey, Dallas Morning News, September 20, 2021

“All infants deserve the ability to spend the first weeks of life with their parents, irrespective of what family they are born into, their family’s financial position, or what company their parents work for. It should be a well-established norm, embedded deep in our culture, that all families can spend the first weeks of their new child’s life together. A fundamental right we protect, not an aberration or a company perk.”

TESTIMONY: The role of child care in an equitable post-pandemic economy

Abby McCloskey, Senate Banking Committee Subcommitee on Economic Policy, June 23, 2021

“Chair Warren, Ranking Member Kennedy, and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

The nature of work and family has changed significantly in recent decades. The majority of parents of young children are now in the labor force, and mothers are the main breadwinners in 40 percent of families. 

This has created tensions around work and care that both the government and markets have failed to adequately address. 

Most recently, the pandemic revealed just how intertwined care is with the economy, providing a unique opportunity to rethink the child care landscape. 

As policymakers weigh new reforms, I’d like to put forward five principles to target our child care investment . . . .”

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Conservative values support investing in child care as infrastructure. Here’s why.

Abby McCloskey, Politico, June 17, 2021

“Investment in early childhood care should be an obvious cause for Republicans to champion. At issue is the importance of healthy families, freedom of choice and the cultivation of economic opportunity. As someone who has been a full-time stay-at-home mother, a full-time working and commuting mother, and everything in between, I understand that these conversations are very personal, every family is unique, and family situations change.

What public policy should do is seek to create more options for parents trying to navigate through care and work, not fewer. It should be informed by more voices, not fewer. This is why the conservative voice is so critical in the care economy debate — why Republicans should take every opportunity to engage and improve upon Biden’s plan and why Democrats should take every opportunity to listen.”

Manhattan Institute: Strengthening Community: Law, Policy, And Voluntary Associations LIVE STREAM

Abby McCloskey, May 5, 2021, Manhattan Institute

America’s commitment to limited government creates space for citizens to use their liberty to build voluntary associations—such as churches, schools, community foundations, and sports leagues—to accomplish important social goals. These institutions form citizens, foster solidarity, enforce norms, pass on traditions, and serve those in need.

Despite the First Amendment’s freedom of assembly and a Court-recognized freedom of association, the status of these organizations is still unclear in a number of ways. Are associations only protected when they engage in political speech? Can the state force private groups to follow the same non-discrimination rules as government bodies?

As more power and money flow to Washington, voluntary associations are in jeopardy of losing their purposes. As elected officials seek to root out systemic discrimination, private groups associated with faith traditions or those following customs deemed antiquated stand to lose their particular character. But at the same time, more and more Americans are seeking local cohesion and a sense of community—precisely what voluntary groups offer.

Please join the Manhattan Institute on May 5th for a discussion with law professor John Inazu, policy analyst Abby McCloskey, and political science professor Luke Sheahan on how law and policy intersect with the bodies of civil society.

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American Enterprise Institute: What is the future of family policy after the pandemic and beyond? | LIVE STREAM

Abby McCloskey, AEI, April 30, 2021

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the economic importance of healthy people and families — raising new questions about the role of US government policy in providing working adults access to paid leave during the pandemic and beyond. On April 30, AEI’s Angela Rachidi will summarize her recent research on paid leave access and use during the pandemic and the effectiveness of existing policies. Then AEI’s Scott Winship, Abby M. McCloskey of McCloskey Policy LLC, and Vicki Shabo of New America will join Dr. Rachidi to discuss the paid leave policy implications of what we have learned from the pandemic and assess the prospects for a national paid leave policy in the US.

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Aspen Institute: Valuing Care: Principles for a Post-Pandemic Care Economy LIVE STREAM

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the value of caregiving work and the need for equitable and affordable access to care – for children, for elders, for those with a disability, and for all of us in hard times. Yet care work remains underpaid and often invisible, contributing to the inadequacies of the US care system and deepening challenges for caregivers and families. As we move from crisis to recovery, how can policy contribute to building a care economy that dignifies the work of caregivers and expands access to quality, affordable care? How can our systems center gender and racial equity to construct a care economy that serves all families? And how can our society support a healthy and sustainable caregiving system for our post-pandemic future, one in which the demand for caregiving is poised to continue to grow?

This special event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program explores these questions and more. The event features an exciting lineup of policy and practice experts, cultural leaders, and caregivers, including Justin Baldoni (Director and Producer, “Clouds,” “Five Feet Apart”; Actor, “Jane the Virgin”; Cofounder, Wayfarer Studios), Erika Beras (Reporter, Marketplace), Heather Boushey (Member, Council of Economic Advisers, The White House), Abby McCloskey (Founder and Principal, McCloskey Policy LLC), Ai-jen Poo (Executive Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance; Director, Caring Across Generations), Dan Porterfield (President and CEO, The Aspen Institute), Adria Powell (President and CEO, Cooperative Home Care Associates), Mitt Romney (US Senator from Utah), Tina Tchen (President and CEO, TIME’S UP), and Dorian Warren (President, Community Change; Cochair, Economic Security Project).

Speakers discuss the important role of caregiving in our economy and society, as well as a variety of ideas for building an equitable care economy both in the near term for recovery and in the long term for a post-pandemic future.

The Economic Opportunities Program’s Opportunity in America discussion series has moved to an all-virtual format as we all do what we can to slow the spread of COVID-19. But the conversations about the changing landscape of economic opportunity in the US and implications for individuals, families, and communities across the country remain vitally important. We hope you will participate as we bring our discussions to you in virtual formats, and we look forward to your feedback.

We are grateful to the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, Walmart.org, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, and the Surdna Foundation for their support of this series.

Thanks to the stimulus, child allowances are here to stay

Abby McCloskey, Dallas Morning News, March 14, 2021

“The sheer magnitude of the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill masks its many components, but one of the most significant parts is an expanded child allowance. For the next year, American families will receive $300 monthly for every child younger than 6 years of age and $250 for every child age 17 or under, phasing out for couples earning more than $150,000.

While framed as a broad anti-poverty effort, the provision is no doubt penance to working parents and their children who have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 fallout. Closed schools and child care centers resulted in an exodus of 1 million mothers from the labor force, an increase in child hunger, and a catastrophic widening of racial and economic disparity in learning, the effects of which will be felt for a generation.

It’s unlikely that a monthly cash payment erases the hardship of this year, but perhaps it softens the blow (or brightens the image of the largely blue teacher unions and Democratic politicians that resisted reopening beyond what science suggested and now can be seen as benefactors).

But child allowances are likely to persist beyond the coronavirus recovery. This is because once a government benefit is in place it’s hard to claw back. It’s also because this proposal has bipartisan momentum despite our historically polarized politics…”

The Need for Continued Bipartisan Momentum on Paid Leave

Abby McCloskey, Adrienne Schweer, Bipartisan Policy Center, December 7, 2010

“We applaud the Senate’s bipartisan framework for a COVID-19 relief package. It represents a needed return to the collaborative congressional response that marked the beginning of the pandemic, and we hope it sets the tone for a more productive 2021 and beyond.

We understand that the nature of a moderate package means that not everyone gets what they want. That said, there’s an obvious bipartisan component missing from the deal: paid leave.”

The Supreme Court represents a huge missed opportunity for Biden

Abby McCloskey, Dallas News, October 21, 2020

“The Supreme Court vacancy is a huge opportunity for Joe Biden to demonstrate how he would govern, win over the exhausted majority, and restore normalcy to politics. Instead, he’s turned it into a liability.”

Our Unequal Recovery

Abby McCloskey, The Dispatch, October 20, 2020

“There are long term problems on the horizon, and not so far off. We can already see them: the lost schooling, the rising share of the unemployed, and how both intersect with existing racial and income disparities. Sooner rather than later, it will be time to pivot our crisis response to address the structural issues emerging from it. This will require Republicans to give more energy to the crisis response than they’ve given it, which in many cases amounts to talking about the crisis in past tense and thus far proposing only a skinnied-up version of what’s been passed so far. And it will require Democrats to focus their desire to spend more money on specific structural issues instead of boiling the ocean with taxpayer money that will eventually need to be repaid or using the crisis as an opportunity for wide-reaching partisan reforms only loosely related to the crisis at hand. “

Pence was right. Now is not the time to raise taxes. But it's also not time to undercut recovery with neglect.

Abby McCloskey, The Dispatch, October 9, 2020

“Pence delivered an effective critique of the Biden tax plan and progressive agenda, but lacked a positive agenda for moving us forward. Coming out of the VP debate, both political parties would be well advised to give more thought to how we rebuild our economy coming out of this pandemic—instead of launching a partisan spending spree only loosely related to the crisis or pretending that by simply keeping on with the status quo, this nightmare will be behind us in no time.”

PODCAST: Slate / New America - Caregiving in the 2020 Campaign

Abby McCloskey, Crisis Lab Communications, October 2, 2020

Political pundits have long insisted that care issues like childcare, elder care and paid and unpaid caregiving are not “bread and butter” economic issues that move voters or swing elections. Will that change in this unprecedented time of COVID-19? Are voters beginning to see that care work is no longer just “women’s work,” but central to a functioning economy? And what difference could that make on Nov. 3?

To take on this topic, Better Life Lab's Brigid Schulte is joined by:

  • Roselyn Miller, Policy Analyst, Better Life Lab

  • Amanda Brown Lierman, Managing Director, Supermajority

  • Abby McCloskey, Founder, McCloskey Policy LLC

To hear more of this episode including stories and questions from callers, click here. You can also find this episode wherever you listen to your podcasts. The video and transcript of the conversation are down below.

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