[Spartan-S63]

Sure, but without mandated paid sick leave, people don't stay home. When it's the difference between going to work to scrape by, or stay home and have trouble making rent or buying food, most folks choose to go to work sick.

We're a society that doesn't value collective health very much.

[piva00]

You should add a qualifier that you are from the USA. Where I live it's completely frowned upon to go to work sick, to the point where you will be told off by your manager, your colleagues will think it's rude and disrespectful, etc.

I simply do not understand how the USA doesn't provide sick leave for workers, does that stem from a lack of trust between employers and employees? It seems to me that the only reason to make it difficult for people to get paid leave when they're sick is that employers feel it'd be abused and hence treat their employees as children, perpetuating the cycle of mistrust. I cannot see another reason for such a basic need for the general health of society to be missing...

[Spartan-S63]

That's fair that I should add a qualifier that I'm from the US.

The only reason I can think of is exactly what you pointed out: that it would be abused. It's really not. Most people want to work. Most people want to feel productive and that they're meaningfully doing something. It's why the myth of the welfare queen is so ridiculous or employees exploiting paid leave is equally ridiculous. The abusers are the exception to the rule, so don't punish the majority for the acts of an extreme minority.