WARNING: Tonight at the Walz v Vance Debate, expect some talk about families, two-earner parents, single parents, the cost of raising kids, and the cost of mortgages and rent.
Let’s prepare ourselves with some solid facts about both candidates’ records and child-care issues. As we do, we need to rid ourselves of these fantasies:
- No, women do not work just for fun. They do not work only for “play money” to spend on spa visits, vacations, and glamorous clothes.
- Women are breadwinners. Almost half of all U.S. workers are women, and their money is central to their families’ economic stability.
- There are about 18 million single-parent families in the U.S.
What we know now — a look at Vance and Walz’s records on Child-Care Costs.
Senator JD Vance called himself a “pro-family leader” in Arizona: “Maybe Grandma or Grandpa want to help out a little bit more, or maybe there is an aunt or uncle that wants to help out a little bit more … If that happens, you relieve some of the pressure on all the resources that are we’re spending on daycare.”
Vance has introduced the “Fairness for Stay-at-Home Parents Act” to help solve the problem of paying for child care. This bill would require former employers to pay for continuing health insurance for parents who drop out of the workforce to become stay-at-home parents.
He supports canceling requirements for child-care worker certification, saying, “We’ve got a lot of people who love kids, who would love to take care of kids,” and “ridiculous certification” rules are the problem.”
The Washington Post reports, “Child-care workers get paid a median wage of $14.60 an hour, or $30,370 annually. They are ‘the country’s lowest-paid employees.” These low wages are just one of the reasons there is a shortage of child-care workers.
Governor Tim Walz
Walz and Kamala Harris have laid out more specific plans for solving the childcare worker situation, such as child tax credit restoration and expansion, paid family leave, grants to childcare providers, and increased wages for childcare workers.
The Walz record when he was governor shows commitment to kids and their families:
- Cut Child Poverty: Established a nation-leading child tax credit to cut child poverty in Minnesota by up to one-third.
- Increased Access to Affordable Housing: Signed a historic $1 billion investment in housing into law – building a foundation for safety, stability, and economic growth across the state.
- Expanded Worker’” Rights: Established paid leave, ensured paid sick days, banned non-compete agreements, and increased protections for workers in Amazon warehouses, construction sites, hospitals, nursing homes, and public schools.
- Signed a $2.3 billion education budget into law — Provided Minnesota students free breakfast and lunch at school; Created thousands of new pre-k seats; Expanded access to mental health resources for students; Invested in improving child literacy.
Both Sides say they support child tax credits:
- Vance — $5000, but he did not show up in a vote to expand the child tax credit when Senate Republicans blocked the bill.
- Walz — led the effort in MN that resulted in a $1750 per child credit. He and VP Harris support expanding the tax credit that ended when pandemic assistance stopped and adding a $6000 credit for parents of newborns.
PERSONAL NOTE from the Editor: Hmm. I’m a Grandma. I love my grandkids. I had their dads when I was very young, so I have on-the-job learning experience. Now, the kids are grown up, and I have a career. If I had grand-babies, I would be willing to babysit occasionally, but not for 40+ hours a week.
But Vance wants me to return to child care. I think not!
Abha Bhattarai, The Washington Post: Both vice-presidential picks tout child-care issues. Here’s how they differ.
Veera Kohonen, Statista: Number of U.S. children living in a single parent family 1970-2023