Preview

An introductory piece by David Dayen on why we need universal family care.
Janelle Jones of Groundwork Collaborative on the failed economics of care work.
Kimberly Morgan of George Washington University on the missed opportunities to fix this system throughout U.S. history.
Bryce Covert on the small businesses that provide child care, and how they struggle to survive.
Marcia Brown on care worker organizing, which has made marginal gains through force of will.
Tasmiha Khan on family care and the pandemic, and the impossible choices facing families.

Sara Luterman on disability care, an overlooked part of the family care system.
Sarah Jaffe on the crisis of U.S. workers without paid sick leave.
Alex Sammon on the collapse of long-term care insurance, a system that is no longer sustainable to protect people from elder care expenses.
Moe Tkacik with an amazing long-read on the corporatization of nursing homes, captured by a predatory outfit decades ago that set the stage for many of private equity’s worst tricks.
Rhacel Salazar Parrenas on the aging of migrant domestic workers, and the situation of the elderly caring for the elderly.
Brittany Gibson explains what caregiving looks like in the UK.
Prospect interns Shera Avi-Yonah, Blaise Malley, and Alex J. Rouhandeh interviewed eight people caught up in the care economy, as providers, as workers, as caregivers, as care recipients. They tell their stories.

David Dayen interviewed Ai-jen Poo about the concept of a universal social insurance program with a single point of access to handle childcare, paid leave, and long-term care for the elderly or people with disabilities.
Bill Spriggs on how we must build a care economy, and value families and particularly the women of color who bear most of the burdens.
Cassandra Lyn Robertson and Darrick Hamilton explain how economic rights like the right to family care comprise a new industrial policy to better support economic growth.
Bob Kuttner costs out a universal family care system, and the choices that will need to be made.

Brittany Gibson looks at family care models from around the world, finding options for a universal family care program in the U.S.

Gabrielle Gurley focuses on Washington state, which has instituted a social insurance program for long-term care, paid family and medical leave, and a cap on child care expenses for low-income families. It’s the closest to a Care For All state in the U.S.

Rachel M. Cohen analyzes the politics of family care, including new polling showing a universal system to be popular.

Seth Borgos and Dorian Warren highlight activism around child care as a case study in how to build a care movement.