Apparently, the United States has a royal family. Host of MSNBC’s Hardball, Chris Matthews refers to the Trumps as the Romanovs, who were the Russian imperial family – before they ended up in jail. Of course, there is the patriarch, Donald Trump. Then, there are the two duke-it-outs: Donald Trump Jr. and Eric. Finally, there is daddy’s princess — Ivanka Trump. Unfortunately, her pet project will screw up life for millions of Americans.
No one is complaining about her favorite idea of paid family leave, just how she plans to pay for it. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has teamed up with Ivanka to create a Republican-friendly program. Not a bad way to get into the good graces of the president.
Democrats have long been for paid family leave, but there is a huge difference in how Rubio and Ivanka Trump plan to pay for it and the Democratic idea.
The former primary competitor to Donald Trump, Rubio has joined with Ivanka to strategize about how to win Republicans’ endorsement. The plan would allow people who want to take off time to have a baby or deal with other family matters to do so.
Ivanka and the senator think it would be a grand idea for individuals to borrow from their future Social Security benefits. That way there would be no need to raise taxes, which is always a negative, or mandate that employers pay for the program.
According to POLITICO, Rubio said:
‘We still have to work on members of my own party. I think there will be significant initial resistance to it, because it’s just not an issue that’s been identified with the Republican Party.’
Of course, the eldest Trump daughter has never had to suffer for lack of money and will never have to count on the average monthly benefit for Social Security $1342, according to Money. Their plan does not take into account people who have physical jobs, such as waitresses or construction workers. By the time they reach retirement, they may not be physically able to wait longer for their benefits.
Their grand plan is that a person who wants six weeks paid leave would postpone Social Security benefits for six weeks, Rubio said, POLITICO reported:
‘That’s a new idea for Republicans who still identify it as something that comes out of the left. Forcing companies to provide it is perhaps an idea that finds its genesis on the left, but the notion that pregnancy should not be a bankruptcy-eliciting event is one that I think all Americans should be supportive.’
A White House official said:
‘While we are pleasantly surprised by the progress we are making in generating conversation around the issue, we know how hard it is going to be and that for all the talk on the issue, nobody has been able to get it done before. We are committed to it and the priority now is to continue to build a coalition.’
Senator Lamar Alexander’s (R-TN) spokesperson, Liz Wolgemuth noted:
‘Sen. Alexander is impressed with Ivanka Trump’s advocacy of paid family leave, and he is working with her to assess whether there is consensus in the Senate that could lead to a result.’
Rubio said the plan would be advantageous to people in the lower-income bracket:
‘Frankly, there’s no evidence that’s the case anywhere, particularly down into the $20,000, $30,000, $35,000 range. People that I know and interact with, going two weeks without a paycheck is catastrophic. Imagine going two months or three months. … They gotta give you time under the law but you don’t get paid. It’s just not a sustainable thing.’
Or the Republicans could return that huge tax break for the ultra-wealthy — like Ivanka — back to the government to pay for paid family leave.
Featured Image via Getty Images/Alex Wong
