August 16, 2013 - Augh!! My computer hates Patience's office. It crashed so many times making this comic hence the lateness. Otherwise I think it's really important to have a comic talking about the difficulty working women find themselves in when they become pregnant. In the U.S. there's no guaranteed maternity leave in terms of time off or salary and there aren't many systems in place to create such a policy (one of the many things I'm optimistic Obamacare may fix, emphasis on may). The bit about the IRS is probably a bit of an exaggeration, but it's kind of alarming that of the 188 countries with known policies regarding maternity leave, it's one of only 8 that doesn't offer any guaranteed paid leave (by comparison Canada and much of Europe offer 26 weeks or more, PAID!). Anyone arguing that capitalism has run amok in this country should look no further than that map I linked to.
Meanwhile there's yet another report on CNN that the average cost to raise a child is just under a quarter million dollars. The article raises interesting points about by making the costs so high do we cheat parents who want children out of their ability to do so which is a nice contrast to an argument I've previously made that such costs put undue burden on ourselves to raise unwanted children (or in turn may pressure parents to view pregnancies as unwanted).
There's also been a case of vigilante justice responding to a rape incident in Detroit after police were slow to respond. I appreciate the community's desire to be involved though it's unfortunate this is what they had to resort to, but I think it probably demonstrates a growing intolerance towards rape as well as a judicial system that's a bit slow to make adjustments. Also yet another plea deal has been offered to Kaitlyn Hunt which she'd be a fool not to take. I think public sympathy has significantly waned now that it's clear she was 18 and the other girl was 14, leaving me questioning if maybe the plea deal is almost too generous as this is really pushing the limit of even Romeo and Juliet laws. But I don't really know the circumstances of the case, I think it's important to acknowledge this was about age differences and the mental development at each age rather than strictly the genders of the parties involved.
-D
Meanwhile there's yet another report on CNN that the average cost to raise a child is just under a quarter million dollars. The article raises interesting points about by making the costs so high do we cheat parents who want children out of their ability to do so which is a nice contrast to an argument I've previously made that such costs put undue burden on ourselves to raise unwanted children (or in turn may pressure parents to view pregnancies as unwanted).
There's also been a case of vigilante justice responding to a rape incident in Detroit after police were slow to respond. I appreciate the community's desire to be involved though it's unfortunate this is what they had to resort to, but I think it probably demonstrates a growing intolerance towards rape as well as a judicial system that's a bit slow to make adjustments. Also yet another plea deal has been offered to Kaitlyn Hunt which she'd be a fool not to take. I think public sympathy has significantly waned now that it's clear she was 18 and the other girl was 14, leaving me questioning if maybe the plea deal is almost too generous as this is really pushing the limit of even Romeo and Juliet laws. But I don't really know the circumstances of the case, I think it's important to acknowledge this was about age differences and the mental development at each age rather than strictly the genders of the parties involved.
-D
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