Washington Cares gives moms and women across the state the short end of the stick when it comes to caregiving

Happy Mother’s Day weekend to Washington moms around the state who drive their kids to 43 practices in a week, handle last minute nannying/pet sitting/bake sale/homework needs, and still find time to make us feel loved. 

But let’s not forget that Washington Cares gives moms and women across the state the short end of the stick when it comes to caregiving. Women make up the majority of unpaid caregivers in the U.S., and that time away from their jobs will likely cost them their own long term care insurance since Washington Cares requires continuous payment for 10 years.

It’s a vicious cycle, and if moms were in charge, they’d probably make it fair for all and even include a fun note in everybody’s lunch. 

Not only is Washington Cares a mandatory additional tax, it’s just bad policy. But here’s how WA Cares affects women most: 

• Working women who take time off to have a child or care for a family member could lose all the money they had paid into the fund and be forced to start from scratch.
• Low-income workers, who also provide care to their family for low or no cost, have to pay the same amount as the top income earners in the state.
• No one can opt-out and with women receiving 64% less pay than men in Washington state, the program costs women more in the long run.
• Washington women can pay into WA Cares their whole lives and still not have nearly enough to pay for their own elder care since it can cost anywhere from $4,000-$15,000 a month for care. 

“Washington Cares is not set up to be any kind of long term care, at best, it’s 3-4 month care. If the policy was good, the opposition wouldn’t need to fearmonger and lie to Washingtonians to keep it functioning. For the love of mothers, let’s pass I-2124.” – Hallie Balch, Let’s Go Washington Press Secretary

Visit letsgowashington.com for more information.