Reply to NY Mag: Daycare is Broken

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The fact that 45K for two kids sounds reasonable does not obviate the problem that it’s unaffordable for most. Unless we only want Rich people having kids (and workers earning peanuts) we need a better solution. [/quote]

Most people under a certain income bracket don’t pay for daycare.  They hav family members watch the kids or older siblings watch the kids.[/quote]

Specify "certain income". I'm guessing you're talking about people making under 50k or so. Sometimes people in this bracket can also qualify for subsidized childcare.

But as with many things, the pinch occurs for people who make more than that but still not enough to really afford childcare. In DC, families making between 50k and 100k. If your HHI is 100k, you cannot afford to spend 20-40k on childcare for one or two kids. It's not an option unless you have no living expenses or something. But you may not have family help. And you also are unlikely to qualify for much assistance on childcare.

We were just above this bracket when we had one kid and determined (1) we'd never have another because it would just not be financially wise, and (2) I wound up becoming a SAHM because it netted us more money. I re-entered the workforce once our kid was in school, but that took longer than expected due to Covid. I actually liked that time with my child, but it definitely wasn't the original plan and while it made financial sense at the time, I do worry it cost me earnings in the long run due to the career disruption.

It's frustrating to see articles like this as though this is a new problem. Childcare has been a huge problem for years. I think part of it is that due to Covid, the problem is touching people in higher tax brackets due to scarcity. But those of us with lower incomes have been dealing with scarcity and unaffordability for years. You shouldn't need to make 150k+ to have kids.[/quote]

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