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But President Donald Trump turned that juxtaposition on its head last week when he pitted childcare against his desire to fund the costly, unpopular and likely unconstitutional war in Iran.
During a private Easter luncheon at the White House, he went on a tirade about how the United States “can’t take care of daycare” because “we have to take care of one thing: military protection.” He pinned the responsibility solely on the states, sharing that he told Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, “Don’t send any money for daycare. …. We’re a big country. We have 50 states. We have all these other people. We’re fighting wars. You got to let a state take care of daycare. And they should pay for it, too.”
No doubt, the cost of childcare, which is rising quicker than the overall rate of inflation, is among the starkest of affordability issues affecting families in this country. In many states, the average cost of daycare runs upward of $1,000 a month per child. The U.S. government’s benchmark for what is “affordable”—when less than 7 percent of the household income, for a family with two children, goes toward childcare—amounts to parents having to earn around $400,000 annually to meet that standard.
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A handful of states and municipalities are also advancing the ball.
New Mexico is the first (and still only) state to offer universal daycare; New York is working to take similar steps.
Meanwhile New York City is full steam ahead on an ambitious and highly publicized agenda: Thus far, more than 1,000 new 3-K seats as well as 2,000 new 2-K seats are committed for four communities beginning this fall. The city is poised to launch an online childcare map and a suite of interactive tools and central platform to make it easier for families to find and choose childcare that best meets their needs. Cardi B has been tapped to help choose a promotional jingle for these opportunities.
Still, the Trump administration is trying to punish Democratic-led states on the basis of such programs—California, Illinois, Minnesota and New York among them—suspending federal funding and making false claims about fraud. So far, courts have blocked his efforts.
If we are serious about supporting families and strengthening our workforce—our national security profile too, for that matter (yes, soldiers are also parents)—we cannot put the onus on states while making it impossible for them to provide services.
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