Second Paper Topic:
Part One: Since the 1970s, three large-scale social changes have taken place:
1) women's labor force participation has increased,
2) more women are raising children on their own and
3) job instability and economic inequality have increased.
Consequently, old ways of caring for dependents no longer work. And yet, there has been no public response to the decline of the two-parent family and the breadwinner/caretaker division of labor.
In After the Family Wage, Nancy Fraser lays out three possible futures:
1) Universal Breadwinner,
2) Caregiver Parity and
3) Universal Caretaker.
Which of these three models do you support and why? Using SOME of the seven criteria Fraser identifies, explain why the model you have chosen is preferable to the other two. How well will your model meet the needs of low-income families and single mothers?
Part Two: A number of our readings have discussed specific policies that could provide support for caregiving. For example, Martha Fineman suggests providing the family unit (which she defines as parent and child) with a Universal Basic Income. In our reading, Families that Work, we learned about maternity and parental policies. The authors of Blame Welfare argue for increasing the minimum wage, increasing the EITC, guaranteeing employees reliable work schedules and making child care accessible, high quality and affordable.
Drawing on one or two of these readings, select a specific public policy and explain how it will fit into the model that you selected in part one. In addition, explain who will pay for your policy-taxpayers, parents, employers or some combination of the three.