Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Pay Up
Quick. You have about 1-1/2 of nap time, what do you choose to do with those precious quiet minutes: pack a box or harass the Kerry campaign. Well, of course I abused a Kerry volunteer.
Kerry put forward a pretty wimpy childcare tax credit program last week, and I wanted to get some details, and bully them to do more. Here, you call them, too. 1-202-712-3000.
It provides a meager amount to SAHM of infants, a childcare tax credit increase from $500 to $1000 (full time childcare costs at least $10,000 per child), and an increase in after school programs for kids up to 13.
I'm going to get into parental politics bigtime in a week or two, so I'm holding myself back right now. But here a few thoughts.
A large part of the economic boom of the nineties was due to the vast expansion of the workforce by educated women. These same economists think that the economy would do even better if more women worked full time. So, the government wants women in the workforce? Then they have to pay for it. With childcare centers. And schools can't continue to operate on an agricultural cycle.
Education is going to have massively expand to cover care for children, while the parents work. Schools must be responsible for children over the summer and during vacations. Or else, government has to pressure businesses to create jobs that mimic the school day.
Of course, this is not the best possible scenario, which would involve everybody working less and caring more for their kids. But, you know, I don't think that anyone in Washington wants that.
For other blog commentary on Kerry's proposal, read Dawn Friedman and Rebel Dad.
[Reader mail tonight. Lots of it.]
UPDATE: More on this from Palabreria.
Quick. You have about 1-1/2 of nap time, what do you choose to do with those precious quiet minutes: pack a box or harass the Kerry campaign. Well, of course I abused a Kerry volunteer.
Kerry put forward a pretty wimpy childcare tax credit program last week, and I wanted to get some details, and bully them to do more. Here, you call them, too. 1-202-712-3000.
It provides a meager amount to SAHM of infants, a childcare tax credit increase from $500 to $1000 (full time childcare costs at least $10,000 per child), and an increase in after school programs for kids up to 13.
I'm going to get into parental politics bigtime in a week or two, so I'm holding myself back right now. But here a few thoughts.
A large part of the economic boom of the nineties was due to the vast expansion of the workforce by educated women. These same economists think that the economy would do even better if more women worked full time. So, the government wants women in the workforce? Then they have to pay for it. With childcare centers. And schools can't continue to operate on an agricultural cycle.
Education is going to have massively expand to cover care for children, while the parents work. Schools must be responsible for children over the summer and during vacations. Or else, government has to pressure businesses to create jobs that mimic the school day.
Of course, this is not the best possible scenario, which would involve everybody working less and caring more for their kids. But, you know, I don't think that anyone in Washington wants that.
For other blog commentary on Kerry's proposal, read Dawn Friedman and Rebel Dad.
[Reader mail tonight. Lots of it.]
UPDATE: More on this from Palabreria.
