We’ve written a lot on this blog about why it makes sense to decouple major benefits, like health care and retirement, from employment. A few years ago it would have been heretical for most policymakers, much less unions, to make these kind of statements. But times are changing. Policymakers and influencers of all stripes are finally beginning to understand that the economy of the 21st century requires us to take on the sacred cows of the New Deal. A new generation of mobile workers are estimated to change careers at least 10 times during their lives, a drastic departure from our parents’ generation, who changed jobs much less frequently (my mom taught at the same public high school for 25 years, and my dad is going on year 30 at his job). As someone who has already changed jobs 4 times since graduating from college, I know that the likelihood of ending up–and staying–in an institution that provides a life-long pension like the ones my parents have is unlikely. Flexibility and portability are the key features that workers between the ages of 18-38 need in their health, retirement and life insurance plans. Luckily, we finally have some options, not to mention influential institutions, on our side. Divided We Fail is a coalition of the AARP, SEIU, Business Roundtable, and the National Federation of Independent Businesses resolved to make access to health care and financial security, with a focus on revamping the systems to make them more portable, a priority in the ‘08 presidential campaign. It has the support of a remarkable array of congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle. And self-employed workers and freelancers can tap into an innovative organization called the Freelancers Union to get health and life insurance (and maybe, in the future, access to a retirement plan). Perhaps these policies could be extended beyond freelancers to the general workforce. In an article in this week’s Sunday New York Time’s Magazine, Matt Bai argues for a policy package of portable and flexible benefits that will “make the self-employed society a reality for everyone.” His point is well-taken: American workers need a set of policies that, even if they are not self-employed, will allow them to transition rapidly from opportunity to opportunity. These principles should be front-and-center of any presidential candidate’s domestic policy agenda.
-Amanda Levinson | Director of Policy Programs
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