Krugerrand
10-20-2010, 12:16 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_eu_maternity
The minimum maternity leave in European Union countries would be raised by six weeks to a total of 20 in a proposal by EU lawmakers Wednesday designed to boost flagging birth rates.
The move, which extends a proposal by the EU executive to raise the mandatory time off for new mothers to 18 weeks with full pay, could meet strong resistance from some EU governments and businesses.
These are my favorite quotes:
But economists say Europe's aging population is a financial time bomb that could damage economic growth rates in coming decades unless there are more young people to help foot the bill.
"Europe needs more children to safeguard its economic future," Edite Estrela, a socialist member of the European Parliament from Portugal, said.
Don't these folks feel the tiniest bit of guilt when they want children for the sole purpose of saddling them with their own retirement? Golly, where do I sign up to have that burden?
The minimum maternity leave in European Union countries would be raised by six weeks to a total of 20 in a proposal by EU lawmakers Wednesday designed to boost flagging birth rates.
The move, which extends a proposal by the EU executive to raise the mandatory time off for new mothers to 18 weeks with full pay, could meet strong resistance from some EU governments and businesses.
These are my favorite quotes:
But economists say Europe's aging population is a financial time bomb that could damage economic growth rates in coming decades unless there are more young people to help foot the bill.
"Europe needs more children to safeguard its economic future," Edite Estrela, a socialist member of the European Parliament from Portugal, said.
Don't these folks feel the tiniest bit of guilt when they want children for the sole purpose of saddling them with their own retirement? Golly, where do I sign up to have that burden?