Leaving Women Behind: Modern Families, Outdated Laws

by Celeste Colgan, James C. Goodman, Kim Strassel

Overview

Paternalistic federal laws and regulations thwart initiatives to grant women the same economic liberties as men. Why have federal institutions overseeing employment, employee benefits, childcare, taxation, health care, education, retirement, and social security adopted such a warped and antiquated perspective of traditional family life? And what can be done about it? Leaving Women Behind answers these important and provocative questions. The authors call upon the federal government to get out of the way of marketplace initiatives. Employers and employees across the country are perfectly capable of making mutually beneficial adjustments if the government simply unties their hands. They offer realistic solutions; solutions that involve empowering people, giving them more choices, and making government less intrusive.

Published in cooperation with The Manhattan Institute and The National Center for Policy Analysis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742545458
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	12/15/2005
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	5.54(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.88(d)

About the Author

Kimberley A. Strassel is a senior editorial page writer for The Wall Street Journal. She joined the editorial page in 1999, after working as a news reporter for Dow Jones in London and New York. Ms. Strassel is a native of Oregon and a graduate of Princeton University.

Celeste Colgan is an educational consultant, and member of the National Council on the Humanities and the Board of Trustees of Mesa State College in Colorado. She formerly served as a senior fellow and director of the Women in the Economy Project of the National Center for Policy Analysis. Before joining the NCPA, she held various positions, including director of the Wyoming Department of Commerce, as a member of the faculty of the University of Wyoming and Casper College, and in corporate and family-owned businesses. Dr. Colgan received her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park.

John C. Goodman is founder and president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a nonprofit public policy institute with offices in Dallas, Texas, and Washington, D.C. He is the author or coauthor of more than 200 articles and eight books, including Lives at Risk (2004). He received the prestigious Duncan Black Award for the best scholarly article on public choice economics in 1988. Dr. Goodman received a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University and has taught at a number of colleges and universities.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Women as Workers Chapter 3 Women and Childcare Chapter 4 Women as Taxpayers Chapter 5 Women and Health Chapter 6 Women and Education Chapter 7 Women as Savers and Investors Chapter 8 Women and Social Security Chapter 9 Women as Retirees Chapter 10 Women and the Future of Elderly Entitlement Programs Chapter 11 Women and Welfare

Editorial Reviews

This book is a personal look into the problems women and families face in the 21st century economy. It is a must-read for changing the hopelessly dated American institutions causing those problems.

Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-TX)

A real eye-opener, a wake-up call for all women and a common-sense case for overdue reforms.

Terry Neese

This book provides personal insight into the single most important social and economic development of the 20th century, the entry of women into the labor market, and provides sensible and workable 21st century solutions.

Nancy Pfotenhauer

This book offers a compelling analysis of the changing demographics of American families today, the impact of often unfair policies, and sound suggestions for addressing the problem.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)

This book offers firsthand, personal accounts about the progress that women, particularly working mothers and their families, have made in achieving workplace equity. More importantly, it points out how far we need to go and what we need to do to get there.

Former U.S. Senator Zell Miller (R-GA)

Leaving Women Behind is a must read because it offers not only economically positive solutions but also family-strengthening ones as well.

Sally Pipes

Strassel and her coauthors have made a valuable contribution to public policy by showing that our laws need to catch up to the 21st century.

New York Post - Diana Furchtgott-Roth

A thorough analysis - with solutions - of how 21st century problems and U.S. public policies toward women and their families remain frozen in the mid-20th century.

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)

American families need relief from the higher taxation and tough choices facing mothers who work outside the home. The first-hand accounts in this book reveal how and why public policy, especially Social Security and tax policy, must change to reflect the needs of modern families.

Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-OH)