Fringe Thinking

Here's a letter to the Boston Globe:

Derrick Jackson wants government to mandate paid maternity and paternity leave for workers ("A gift that pays off for new dads," June 19).  He writes as if the costs of mandated paid leave will be fully absorbed by employers: workers will get an additional valuable fringe benefit at the expense of employers and, hence, employees will suffer no downside.

What a strange notion.  To see why, suppose that Mr. Jackson weren't an opinion writer but, instead, a...