John Oliver Marks Mother's Day with a Plea for Paid Maternity Leave

Before we move on from Mother’s Day, let’s take a moment with John Oliver to appreciate the grand irony of this particular holiday and its accompanying orgy of marketing: “In America, there is nothing we wouldn’t do for moms—apart from one major thing.” Which is, of course, paid maternity leave. Motherhood: we love it when we’re trying to sell wings and baseball tickets; we hate it when it costs a corporation sweet, sweet cash.

“Mothers shouldn’t have to stitch together time to recover from childbirth the same way that we plan four-day weekends in Atlantic City,” Oliver says. Just because you might choose to spend time in a tub in either situation doesn’t make it the same.