Taxpayers, too, are burdened by the economic slump, and expecting them to pony up for paid family leave just doesn’t make sense. Even in good economic times, legislators couldn’t find a way to fund the paid family leave bill. The most absurd reality: In some cases, it would require workers who aren’t well off to finance personal days for people who are. Aside from this backward thinking, choosing to start a family carries with it a responsibility to handle the monetary burden.

Government safety nets (unpaid family leave) already are set up to help families. Federal law requires businesses with 50 or more employees to give workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid medical or family leave per year. It’s a good system. Many private employers kick in some paid leave during those weeks. That’s fantastic. Recent studies show that the federal leave law has helped play a role in job retention for women.

Everyone likes to see families thrive. And taking time off of work to care for a newborn is essential. While the Legislature should be praised for its good intentions, it has to be chided for its pie-in-the-sky proposal.

The new law would pay a new parent taking time off work $250 for up to five weeks — regardless of his or her monetary need or salary level. One early funding idea was to tax all workers. 

But funding problems abound even two years after the bill’s passage. A task force was created to decide who should administer the program, how costs could be minimized and how to pay for it. But the team could not figure it out. And Gov. Chris Gregoire’s opposition to using general funds to pay the benefits leaves the misguided program in a pickle. Instead of more task force meetings and false promises to prospective parents, lawmakers should do away with the notion of paid family leave.