WASHINGTON D.C. — Americans want to build strong families, but too many government regulations have made that goal more difficult. From child care and housing to health care and workplace flexibility, a one-size-fits-all government-mandated approach has limited choices, driven up costs, and made it harder for families to thrive. In response, Independent Women today released “Flourishing Families: An Agenda to Help Families Thrive,” a new report that outlines practical policy reforms to make family life more affordable and attainable so that Americans can more easily start, support, and sustain strong families.
“Families are the foundation of a healthy society. We need policies that make it easier for families to function and flourish,” said Carrie Lukas, president of Independent Women. “This includes not only making it easier to raise up the next generation, but also to support older generations and people at every stage of life. This report provides actionable policy ideas that do just that.”
Read “Flourishing Families: An Agenda to Help Families Thrive” here.
Families are a source of joy, fulfillment, and love, and are the essential building block of any functioning society. Strong families—and a strong nation—are built when policymakers remove unnecessary barriers and empower individuals to make the decisions that best meet their needs at every stage of life.
“Flourishing Families” addresses and provides policy solutions across eight key areas: paid leave, child care, education, elder care, health care, flexible work, housing and affordability, and taxes and social support.
PAID LEAVE: Giving Families More Choices, Not More Mandates
Workers need to be able to take time off from work to care for themselves and their families, particularly when facing illness or the addition of a new child to the family. Carrie Lukas, president of Independent Women and co-author of the report, poses an essential question: “How best can we ensure that people can take time when they need it without infringing on other freedoms or eroding take-home pay?”
Families flourish when they have the freedom to choose the workplace benefits and leave arrangements that best fit their unique circumstances. Rather than imposing one government-designed model, Lukas proposes more and better job opportunities, overtime flexibility, and earned leave.
CHILD CARE: Putting Families in the Driver’s Seat
Too often, childcare policy assumes that expanding center-based day care is the primary goal. Heather Madden, vice president for policy initiatives at Independent Women and co-author of the report, writes that “day care is only one option among many, and it is certainly not the option many parents would choose if they had complete flexibility.”
Families will succeed when public policy supports a broad range of caregiving options rather than privileging a single model. To address inadequate options and unnecessary regulations, Madden proposes that policy leaders should remove barriers in order for families to have the freedom to find the solution that works for them.
EDUCATION: Parents Know Their Children Best
The lack of K–12 educational options has also created real costs for parents. And even before the pandemic, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores showed stagnating or declining trends, but COVID-era closures exacerbated these academic losses.
In “Flourishing Families,” Neeraja Deshpande, senior policy analyst at Independent Women, writes that policymakers should respect parents’ authority through school choice, parental opt-outs for curriculum on sensitive topics, and access to records so parents have the freedom to choose the best education for their children.
ELDER CARE: Helping Families Care Across Generations
The desire to age in place is overwhelming. Eighty eight percent (88%) of seniors say they want to remain in their homes for as long as possible as they grow older rather than relocating to a senior living facility.
Heather Madden, vice president for policy initiatives at Independent Women, argues that, rather than steering families toward one-size-fits-all, government-centered approaches, policymakers should remove unnecessary barriers, expand opportunities for in-home support, and give families more options to choose the arrangements that best meet their loved ones’ needs.
One answer to this is Independent Women’s caregiving model legislation,
the American Caregivers Act, which creates a new pathway that connects families with students interested in providing meaningful support to seniors, through vetted sponsoring organizations—making it easier to access safe, affordable, in-home care while creating new opportunities for America’s young adults.
HEALTH CARE: Putting Patients in Control
Since 2006, the average family premium has more than doubled, now sitting at $26,993, and has outpaced inflation by roughly 50%. But for many families, deductibles are the more immediate concern, having risen to an average of $1,886.
Dr. Monique Yohanan, director of the Center for Better Health at Independent Women, writes that Americans need reforms that give families both transparent prices and practical ways to pay for routine care outside the traditional insurance system. In “Flourishing Families,” she calls on policymakers to enforce price transparency laws while also allowing flexibility so that families can choose more affordable options outside the traditional health insurance framework.
FLEXIBLE WORK: Crafting a Career Around Family
Over the past decade, as gig economy work has gained greater attention, Left-leaning policymakers have sought to end the independent contracting model through mass reclassification efforts.
With around 72.9 million American—42% of the U.S. workforce—freelancers nationwide, Patrice Onwuka, vice president of economic policy at Independent Women, proposes increased flexibility, clear standards, and expanded access to traditional workplace benefits for independent contractors. Close to a dozen states have already passed similar legislation.
Onwuka argues that policymakers should fight mass reclassification efforts and codify clear and simple standards for independent contractors because families flourish when they have the ability to choose what type of work best fits their needs.
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY: Making Home More Attainable
High housing costs burden families at every stage of life, but are a particular challenge for young people. Government regulations play a major role in high housing costs, adding roughly $132,000 to the price of a new home.
Patrice Onwuka, vice president for economic policy at Independent Women, argues that the federal government, states, and local governments must reform or eliminate regulations that make the home-building process protracted, complex, corrupt, and costly. This includes reducing onerous regulations to increase the number of available existing and new homes on the market in order to help families find affordable housing that meets their needs at every stage of life.
TAXES AND SOCIAL SUPPORT: Rewarding Work and Supporting Families
The U.S. spends over $1 trillion annually on more than 80 anti-poverty programs designed to support low-income families in caring for their children. Due to fraud and abuse, government welfare programs have become increasingly expensive and too often fail those who actually need support.
Kamryn Crane, budget and entitlement reform policy analyst at Independent Women, proposes that policymakers can reduce unnecessary government burdens and create an affordable, opportunity-rich economy. That means reducing tax burdens across the board, while encouraging savings and additional support for families facing the biggest challenges, such as when children are young.
MAKING IT EASIER TO THRIVE
Families thrive when they have the freedom to make the decisions that are best for them, not when they are prescribed one-size-fits-all solutions. This includes having real choices about where to live, how to educate their children, how to balance work and caregiving responsibilities, how to save for the future, and how to care for aging loved ones.
Read “Flourishing Families: An Agenda to Help Families Thrive” here.
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