Message from a Mom: Free Childcare Now
Elizabeth Rodsmith
When baby boomers roamed the earth, a single income could go a long way. Now, not so much. Everything is … *checks notes* ... more expensive. Prices for childcare are more than most families pay in rent/college, and costs are increasing faster than inflation. The median childcare cost in Seattle is $30,000 a year. This is a failure of both Democrats and Republicans to allocate funds to real people, not just the billionaires that own our politicians.
We had federally funded childcare until 1946. During World War II, the government was forced to fund daycare for over 500,000 children to support the millions of women who were filling in at the factories. But when the men came home from war, women were forced back into hiding and the policy was rescinded. Women are now a permanent part of the workforce, but childcare never came back.
American politicians are spending $1 billion per day to murder children in Iran, and cover up the murders of children in our circles of “leadership”.
I didn’t vote on this war (and no one opened my email about fracking in national parks…but I digress). How's about we divert those funds to the care of our children back home?
Like the dream of universal healthcare, we could streamline costs, improve access, and ensure basic requirements are met (for children, parents, AND caregivers). Programs not just for low income families where the government tells us to be grateful for every crumb, but quality care for us all.
It matters WHO and HOW we care for our children. So it matters how we care for our childcare workers. Caregivers deserve access to education and resources, and they deserve to be compensated. I don't want a hungry, frustrated person who is worried about getting to their second job looking after my children. A system based on equal opportunity, fair access to housing, education, healthcare and job safety is good for everyone (except the billionaires). I WANT smart, secure people around our kids, and recent cuts to public spending make that so much harder to find.
A socialist workers party (not affiliated with Dems or Republicans) would be able to work toward universal childcare without bending to the will of monied interests that own our current Congress. The Capitalists divert every cent to big oil and pharma bros, while kids owe debt on school lunches.
Too many parents are on a desperate search for a stranger, ANY STRANGER, willing to watch our kids for a day so all can afford to eat. Why is it so expensive to keep children safe? Why don’t American politicians protect OUR future?
A new party is key to forcing the issue. That's why I support forming a socialist workers party, here in Seattle and hopefully nationwide.