Go, Ohio

As an article in the Dayton Daily News put it forlornly, Ohio rarely leads the nation in anything. (Not even plant closings, where it's probably edged out by Michigan.) But Ohio is poised to become the first state in the nation to require employers to give workers paid sick leave.

I don't have to tell parents how important sick leave is. The Dayton Daily News article reports that 2.2. million Ohioans have no paid sick leave and another million don't have the right to use it to care for their sick children. For low-income workers, who are least likely to have paid sick time and least likely to have the right to use it to care for sick children, one illness in the family can mean losing a job and financial ruin. This is just one element of the shadow of fear that defines the American economy. Most other rich countries have seen fit to lift that shadow by offering, among other pieces of the safety net, paid sick leave.

If voters pass this initiative this fall—and as of now 71 percent support the measure— Ohio workers will get seven paid sick days.

Here's hoping Ohio is just the first.