The U.S needs to step up for our kids and families
[ [link removed] ]Take Action Now
[ [link removed] ]TAKE ACTION
Dear Friend,
Last week the New York Times shared shocking statistics about early child
care support in the United States. Brace yourself….it turns out rich
countries contribute an average of $14,000 per year for a toddler’s care,
compared with just $500 in the U.S. [ [link removed] ] You read that right, the U.S.
ONLY spends a low $500 on early child care compared to much, MUCH higher
investments in similarly resourced nations! [ [link removed] ] The gaps in these numbers
are mind-blowing, but the truth is undeniable. In the developed world, the
United States is an outlier in its low levels of financial support for
young children’s care and early education. [ [link removed] ]
[1]This is absolutely unacceptable and infuriating. It’s time to demand
that our elected leaders act now to support kids and families by passing a
care infrastructure (including child care and paid family medical leave)
ASAP!
Building a care infrastructure is key to changing these shameful numbers
and helping our economy. The package that we are demanding Congress pass
now to address this includes:
* A comprehensive, federally funded child care system that ensures all
families have access to high-quality, affordable child care which is
available when and where they need it and invests in the education and
compensation of a diverse workforce.
* Ensuring that all care workers, as well as every person in our nation,
is paid living wages of at least $15 per hour (and get rid of the
harmful lower tipped minimum wage); and investing in communities by
reimagining safety and divesting from punishment and policing.
* Paid Family and Medical Leave that would ensure all working people
have access to at least 12 weeks of paid leave to bond with a new
child, address a personal or family-related serious illness, or handle
needs that arise from a military deployment.
* Make permanent the fully refundable part of the Child Tax Credit so
the program ensures all eligible low-income children have access to
this critical support, and also to extend the increased size of the
Child Tax Credit to 2025.
* Invest in Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services to create over
one million union protected direct care jobs, expand access to home
and community-based services to people with disabilities and aging
adults, support unpaid family caregivers to re-join the labor force,
and advance a path to citizenship for essential workers, Dreamers, and
TPS holders, and their families.
[2]We cannot sit idly as the U.S. keeps bottoming out on supporting kids,
families, our businesses and economy: Tell Congress to ACT NOW!
The disparities between us and similarly resourced nations are sadly not
new. And the pandemic has only made things worse. All of this is a larger,
long-running systemic problem that needs MAJOR systemic solutions and
investments. Currently, the U.S. loses $57 billion each year in economic
productivity and revenue losses due to child care. [ [link removed] ] And when it comes
to early child care, just seven states (and the District of Columbia)
serve more than half of 4-year-olds, with 14 states having no public
preschool or serve less than 10 percent of children. [ [link removed] ] And in more than
half of all states, child care for an infant in a child care center costs
more than in-state college tuition. [ [link removed] ]
And as the New York Times article points out, the situation is much
different in many rich countries, where there is more comprehensive
support for families. In Europe, new parents have paid family/medical
leave of 14 months, on average, after a new baby arrives -- and it’s
common for children to start public school at age 3. [ [link removed] ]
Paid family/medical leave is essential to millions of workers and their
families but the United States is the only industrialized nation in the
world without a federal paid leave policy. [ [link removed] ] Providing a comprehensive
and permanent paid leave program is an investment in the care
infrastructure and ensures business prosper and our economy thrive. It
also means working families are able to utilize paid family/medical leave
to heal from childbirth, bond with a new child, deal with one’s own
serious health issues, provide care to an aging family member or one with
a disability or deal with a loved one’s military deployment. Paid
family/medical leave is one of the most widely supported policies in the
country. [ [link removed] ] We need effective tools and family-friendly policies like
paid leave so working families are not forced to choose between earning a
paycheck and taking care of their families.
[3]NOW is the right time to Build Back Better and build a child care
infrastructure! Click to urge Congress to take action!
Another key part of the care infrastructure that’s on the line are the
improvements to the Child Tax Credit (CTC), thanks to the American Rescue
Plan, signed by President Biden in March, which made it so that most
families are now getting monthly payments to help raise their kids. How
much money? For every child under the age of 6 families should be
receiving $300/month and for each child ages 6-17 should receive
$250/month. Plus, now those of us who made little or no income in the past
year will still be able to get the CTC! That’s some serious cash that has
already done some serious good in helping our families make ends meet
during this difficult time. This policy alone is slated to lift nearly
half of children out of poverty. In fact, 3.4 million Latinas and 2
million Black women will directly benefit from the expansion of the Child
Tax Credit. [ [link removed] ] And we’ve already seen in just a few months that these
checks are reducing hunger and poverty for families across the country.
We can do all of these things. We can’t let Congress force a false choice
between these critical policies for children and families because they
boost our families, our businesses, and our economy. Paid Family and
Medical Leave, high-quality child care, the Child Tax Credit, and all of
our care economy policies are mutually reinforcing. This isn’t a salad
bar. And it’s not a hand out. This is an investment in our collective
ability to thrive that studies show will lift our nation’s GDP by 10 - 15
basis points.
[4]NOW is the time to say enough is enough. Click now to tell Congress:
It’s past time to build a real child infrastructure!
We have the chance to turn this situation around and finally give all
families the care and support they really need to thrive. We cannot let
this moment pass us by, and with your actions, perhaps our country can
finally show the world that we love our families and want them to
succeed.
- Nadia, Namatie, Lauren, Nina, Kristin, Donna, and the whole
MomsRising.org/MamásConPoder Team
References:
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[4]
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[5]
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[6]
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[8] [9]Quick Facts on Paid Family and Medical Leave
[9] [10]New Survey Shows Voters in Senate Battleground States Want Paid
Leave Urgently, as Part of Infrastructure Package
[10]
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
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