ACTUALLY, IT DOESN’T: “Funding for Child Care Seems Nice, But Think Twice.”
A new Treasury Department report tells us what we already know: Child care costs are unaffordable for many families. In response to this, lawmakers have included $250 billion in child care subsidies in the $3.5 trillion spending bill currently under consideration.
While this effort might strike many Americans as a well-intended “hand up” to working parents, it comes with a significant downside, and not just the price tag to taxpayers. The most serious problem with government-funded child care is the downstream effect on the quality, variety, and independence of child care providers in today’s robust — although expensive — marketplace.