The recent National Day Without Childcare brings focus to the all too familiar dilemma facing working families: We can’t afford childcare. According to the Bank of America, child care payments rose 32% since 2019, making it the second largest expense for families, after rent or mortgage. A whopping 23.1% of families are unable to find or pay for care and the crisis is worsening as billions of dollars in pandemic-era funding are expiring. More than 1,300 childcare providers across the U.S. participated in actions to demand the financial burden be addressed through an equitable childcare system, increased wages for childcare providers, and affordable and accessible childcare for all families.
Why are families forced to bear the burden of childcare on their own? Politicians are signing off on hundreds of millions of dollars for the military – including weapons that murder Palestinian children. Those same politicians pushed to end COVID-era aid that provided some cushion and relief for working households. Politicians will not be the ones to resolve the crisis. We must build towards a society that prioritizes children and working people’s needs.
