Dear Friend,

Growing up Latina, I would hear family members say “lo barato sale caro” when something that we hadn’t invested a lot of money in would break – what they meant is you get what you pay for… like when you buy the dollar store water toy your kid begs you for, and then it breaks on the way home.

Urge Congress to stop cutting child care that families and our economy need by passing the Child Care Stabilization Act before moms and kids pay the price!

This idea, “Lo barato sale caro” doesn’t only apply to toys. When we don’t prioritize quality, when we use “lo barato” and underinvest, then we lose out, and as a nation – and we end up losing out BIG time when it comes to doing what is best for our families and economy. It’s not fair that hardworking families don't have the foundation they really need so they can work and take care of their families, and in the long run – it ends up costing us, not only as families, but as a community, as businesses, as an economy, and as an entire country.

The dual forces of an already-crumbling child care system from chronic underfunding and a global pandemic have thrust child care further into a state of crisis.

Why? Because LO BARATO SALE CARO! And Congress knows this because they already took some first bold and necessary steps to invest critical funds to stabilize the child care market which saved our system from total collapse during the height of the pandemic. But those funds expire this month - and without continued investment, child care providers, families, and our economy are headed toward a giant cliff.

All told, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) stabilization dollars that saved the child care sector from collapse are expiring at the end of September and projections show that 3.2 million children could lose their child care as a result. [1]

But help is on the way! The Child Care Stabilization Act was introduced recently to provide at least $16 billion per year in emergency child care dollars to address this, while laying the groundwork for the sustained and transformative funding needed to ensure high-quality, affordable child care is accessible for all families.

Tell Congress: Don’t make families, kids, businesses, and the economy pay the price. It’s time to pass the Child Care Stabilization Act!

During Hispanic Heritage Month, let’s talk about how "lo barato sale caro" when it comes to the chronic underinvestment in our country’s child care system and how that hurts our economy:

Research indicates that for every $1 invested in child care and early learning programs, there is $7-10 return on investment. [2] So, for every $1 that isn’t invested, we are LOSING $7-10 going back into our economy. Lo barato sale caro.
The United States spends less than 0.5 percent of its GDP on child care, which is far less than most OECD countries. This puts the USA at an economic disadvantage. Lo barato sale caro. [3]
Parents, mostly moms, are being pushed out of the workforce due to unaffordable child care – and that means less income brought home and into communities as well as supply chain and staffing issues in businesses. Lo barato sale caro.
The United States is at risk of losing an estimated $64.5 billion in economic activity from women’s aggregate lost wages due to the lack of child care and their need to reduce hours or leave the workforce. Lo barato sale caro. [4]
Ensuring child care for all could add 2.2 million jobs to the economy, increasing GDP by $274 billion. Lo barato sale caro. [5]

**Take action to tell elected leaders that our families, communities, businesses, economy, and country lose when they don’t solve the child care crisis.

Resourcing early education, like child care and pre-k, makes sense not only on an economic level, but also on a child development level: Our babies’ brains develop the most in the first five years of life–In fact, 90 percent of brain growth happens before kindergarten. [6]

It’s the moment to invest in a solid foundation for our babies’ brains – when we invest in the early years– we set them up for success later on. [7]

The good news is that right now Congress is working on the budget for FY2024 and they have the ability to set priorities and choose what they invest in – and we need to tell them to fully fund the programs that lift all families – including early education like child care and pre-k.

Click here to tell Congress that when we don’t invest in families, we are hurting our economic well-being as a nation. Lo barato sale caro.

Families can’t wait! Parents can’t wait! We need Congress to act now.

Thank you and gracias for all you do for working families across the country.

Diana, Nina, Nadia, Lauren, Linda and the entire MomsRising/MamásConPoder team

References:

[1] The Century Foundation, Child Care Cliff: 3.2 Million Children Likely to Lose Spots with End of Federal Funds

[2] James Heckman, Four Big Benefits of Investing in Early Childhood Development

[3] OECD report, Public spending on childcare and early education

[4] The Century Foundation, How COVID-19 Sent Women’s Workforce Progress Backward: Congress’ $64.5 Billion Mistake

[5] The Century Foundation, The Case for Child Care and Early Learning for All: Economic Prosperity

[6] First Things First, Brain Development

[7] James Heckman, Four Big Benefits of Investing in Early Childhood Development