Someone Owes Moms $117K

Jen Chaney — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:02:00 GMT

According to a "study" released by salary.com, stay-at-home moms would make close to $117,000 a year if they were compensated for their work. That figure was calculated based on the salaries of 10 jobs -- including housekeeper and CEO -- whose duties share something in common with motherhood.

Working moms, on the other hand, only earn $68,405 for their kid-rearing efforts. Because, you know, they're just mothering "part-time." These figures are slightly higher than the ones quoted in Brett's recent blog post about New York moms, who apparently are only worth $70K per year even when they're working the maternal shift full-time. (Don't they know how high the cost-of-living is in New York? Momma needs to pay the rent and buy a new pair of shoes, you know.)

It's fun to speculate about how much money each of us could earn if only we got paid for running a family.But it's also a depressing reminder that women in general, whether they are mothers or not, still aren't compensated at the same level as most men. And as a society, our attitude toward ambitious women is still pretty conflicted. (No, I'm not referring to Hillary Clinton, overtly or covertly, with these comments. But someone will probably assume I am, so whatev.)

It would be nice if SAHMs, working moms or even working women period actually were paid the money they deserve. Until that day comes, well, we always have another survey from salary.com to look forward to. Next time, I'd like them to look into how much money moms deserve to spend on their non-existent corporate credit cards. I think we have another pretend-$10 Grand coming our way.

Government Concedes Georgia Girl's Autism Caused By Vaccines

Amy S.F. Lutz — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:03:00 GMT

Hannah Poling was a precocious toddler until her 18-month check-up, when she was given five vaccines in one visit. She had a strong reaction to the shots - for the next 48 hours, she ran a high fever and wouldn't stop crying. She refused to walk and stopped sleeping through the night. Within three months, Hannah began showing classic signs of autism: spinning, and staring at lights and ceiling fans. For a while, she completely stopped talking. Now 9, Hannah needs one-on-one care all the time.

Although my son, who is also autistic, did not follow this pattern of regression following his immunizations, it's very common to hear similar stories from other parents. But now the Polings have something those other parents don't have, at least not yet: acknowledgement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that Hannah's autism was caused by vaccines.

It's still unclear what ramifications this decision will have for the 5000+ other families seeking compensation from the federal vaccine court. Although the Polings' records are sealed, leaked documents show that Hannah has an underlying mitochondrial condition that was aggravated by her immunizations and caused her autism. In a press conference, Hannah's father, Dr. Jon Poling, explained that this condition is vastly more common among the autistic population, with some experts claiming a rate as high as 7% or more. Only .02% of neurotypical children are affected.

Since the vaccine court was established by Congress in 1988, over 950 claims have been paid, but this is the first for autism. Although the amount of the Polings' award has not yet been determined, the average compensation is about $1 million, paid from a fund created to protect both children harmed by vaccines and the pharmaceutical companies who produce them.

In response to the Poling decision, the CDC reiterated its claim that autism is not caused by vaccines. But how could they say otherwise, given the public health emergency that would result if parents stopped immunizing their children? Even John McCain - a Republican! - stated last week that "there's strong evidence" the mercury preservative thimerosol is involved in the explosion of children diagnosed with autism in recent years. As many as 1 in 150 American children suffer from the disorder.

The cases of two more families who believe thimerosol caused their children's autism will be heard in May. I know I'm not the only one who can't wait to hear how the court rules on those claims.

Atlanta Journal Constitution photo

Strollerderby : compensation

Someone Owes Moms $117K

Government Concedes Georgia Girl's Autism Caused By Vaccines