Paying for Your Own Children Is Not Enough, Is It?

Of 41 countries studied, the US is the only country that lacks government-mandated paid family leave for new parents. Almost 7 million households in the US have children between ages three and five as of 2021. It's an example of how we Americans tend to make societal needs an individual responsibility.

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This week’s episode holds two complex truths simultaneously: That sometimes, the answer is working harder, and other times, the answer is policy, interdependence, and community. Sure, individual responsibility is important—but when we try to solve complex, collective problems with individual exceptionalism, we create a recipe wherein quality of life for all but a select few worsens over time.

Our individual wealth accumulation and experience of personal finance do not exist in a vacuum—they exist within the context of the economic policy decisions and cultural norms of our time.

You can work on your metaphoric swimming and freestyle upstream for as long as you’ve got the energy to do so, but the strength of the current is outside of your control. Usually, we talk about your swimming. Today, we’re talking about the current.

Plus, this episode features an interview with Rebecca Walker, activist and author of Women Talk Money (https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Women-Talk-Money/Rebecca-Walker/9781501154324). Get ready!

To learn more about our sponsor, Vin Social, check out http://vinsocialvip.com/.

Episode transcripts can be found at https://www.podpage.com/money-with-katie-show/.

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Mentioned in the Episode

ChooseFI: https://www.choosefi.com/
Beyond the #Girlboss and Fixing the Motherhood Penalty: https://moneywithkatie.com/blog/the-girl-bossification-and-the-motherhood-penalty
40% of Americans have not traveled outside the US: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lealane/2019/05/02/percentage-of-americans-who-never-traveled-beyond-the-state-where-they-were-born-a-surprise/?sh=3a307eb82898
Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/567511/trick-mirror-by-jia-tolentino/
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development study: https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/gender-wage-gap.htm
Pew Research Center on paid family leave: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/12/16/u-s-lacks-mandated-paid-parental-leave/
Trey Lockerbie's tweet: https://twitter.com/TreyLockerbie/status/1572417849351868418?s=20&t=y8rcaIBB6ZKFUAxIkSxR0g
US households with children ages 3-5 in 2021: https://www.statista.com/statistics/679812/number-of-households-with-children-by-age/
Joy Borkholder's Crosscut feature: https://crosscut.com/news/2022/01/why-child-care-us-lags-behind-much-world
The Way We Never Were by Stephanie Coontz: https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/stephanie-coontz/the-way-we-never-were/9780465098835/
Rational Reminder: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rational-reminder-podcast/id1426530582?i=1000569872619
WSJ feature on the wage gap: https://www.wsj.com/articles/gender-pay-gap-college-11659968901
The Whiteness of Wealth by Dorothy A. Brown: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/591671/the-whiteness-of-wealth-by-dorothy-a-brown/
Rebecca Walker's feature in Oprah Daily: https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/books/a39431571/rebecca-walker-book-women-talk-money/