Regarding the Feb. 18 One More Time column (“A Business Isn’t a Babysitter”) that argues against the city’s proposal to give new mothers up to 18 weeks off with up to 100 percent of their pay: Do you and the council members realize that employees already pay 1 percent of their income up to $118,000 to cover State Disability Insurance? This state tax allows parents to take up to 6 weeks paid leave at 60-70 percent of their wages depending on their earnings, up to a maximum amount that tops out at $104,000 for the year. Employers do not pay anything. There are two issues with the current system as I see it. One is that low wage-earning parents can’t take the leave because the wage replacement is inadequate to cover their lost wages. Most of the parents taking the 6 weeks are middle- and upper-middle class parents. And, affluent parents earning more than $118,000 don’t pay on wages above that amount so this is actually a regressive tax on low income wage earners. As an employer with a predominantly female work force that addresses child and family issues, parental leave is something we support. Usually parents take the disability along with vacation and sick time and are often gone for 3-4 months. We hire temporary employees and hope that our well-trained employees will come back. Often, the lack of child care for infants is an additional issue that parents face. Second, the literature on brain development has been quite compelling that the relationship between parents and their children in those first months is critical. One way we reduce later issues requiring remediation is ensuring that a strong bond is formed right from birth. Family leave seems to be one important way that children grow to be productive adults and become our next generation of competent workers. With the birth rate decreasing we must do all that we can to ensure that every child succeeds in life. Having said that, I don’t think that cities should take the lead in requiring businesses to be more supportive of their child-bearing workforce. This is a state issue or even a federal issue and should be addressed at that level. Families should get sufficient time to bond with their children and higher wage earners should be bearing a larger portion of the cost of that care. I support elimination of the cap on the amount of wages that are taxed. One percent of income for earners above $118,000 is not much of a burden, especially now that higher wage earners are paying lower federal taxes. Michael Olenick, Ph.D. President and Chief Executive Child Care Resource Center Inc. Chatsworth