I remember when Mike Tyson was set to take on Evander Holyfield, when the first iphone was advertised, and when the Era tour tickets were scheduled to go on sale. So, I’m not going to pretend like my return to the blog-o-sphere is not soaked with anticipation. What’s he been up to? Has he written under a different name? What has he been drinking? The answer is making charts, no, and check out this beer-score chart.
Here is the science to back it up:
But what I would like to discuss today is childcare. Other countries do it better. German parents are paying less than a 1/20 of their income compared to us. If you got two kids under five and work a full-time job, you’ll pay over $30,000 a year. It’s a reason a lot of people leave the workforce, cannot make ends meet or pay for housing and healthcare. It’s wild that despite how unbearably expensive childcare is, the caretakers don’t get paid enough. As a society we are entrusting people with the life and death of our toddlers and paying them $15 an hour. Meanwhile, some marketing executive is making $300,000 a year convincing you to buy the yellow can of carbonated water instead of the green.
Using a large expected surplus from the current fiscal year, Connecticut put aside $300 million to start a childcare trust fund, which will start off by making childcare free through certain programs that serve lower income households. The fund will cover operating expenses (i.e. salaries) and health insurance of workers. Any future surpluses will be deposited into the fund. This will be a game changer for those that need it. Expecting moms to bear the brunt of child rearing with no pay or respect is part of the patriarchy. It’s the women who end up staying home from a job. More childcare means more freedom, professionally and financially. Not only is this going to help people return to the workforce, be better parents, and generally be happier, the increased pay and health insurance subsidies will go to a workforce that is nearly all woman. Expanding support for childcare addresses systemic sexist practices from two angles.
Americans have been unhappy. Money and a fair shot at being financially secure is a huge part of that. What Connecticut did for childcare is worth acknowledging when everything is going backwards on the national level.
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