It was thousands of moments parents applied: a chance to hear how the two major presidential candidates plan to tackle the high cost of child care in America.
Referring to the news, found this The cost of childcare in 2023 Paying an average of more than $11,000 a year per child, CNN debate co-host Jake Tapper asked how the candidates would help America’s struggling families to pay.
But viewers of Thursday night’s debate barely answered the question.
Former President Donald Trump ignored it entirely, instead using his time to defend his decision to fire members of his administration before repeatedly insulting President Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, Biden dedicated himself less than half a minute to his answer, he said broadly: “We need to greatly increase the care of the child tax credit. We need to significantly increase the ability of women and men and single parents to return to work and encourage businesses to offer childcare.
Not long ago, two candidates argued over golf gamesthey spend more time discussing golf handicaps than the cost of childcare.
Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Moms First, a non-profit organization that advocates for gender equality for mothers, said Friday that she was proud the question was included in the debate, calling it “a demonstration of the power of the mothers’ movement.” His group filed a petition with CNN About 15 thousand signatures It required debate moderators to call attention to America’s “broken child care system.”
Saujani said that while she felt the inclusion of childcare was a victory, the candidates’ responses were “deeply frustrating.”
“Families are drowning in debt, going bankrupt, having to choose between their children and going to work. This is a real crisis,” he said. “Instead of offering reasonable answers and solutions, they basically fought each other.”
She said she hopes the affordability of childcare will be brought up again in future discussions.
“Answer the damned question,” he said. “This is one of the issues on which the vast majority of Americans agree. This is not a partisan issue.”
And this is true for millions of families. Advocacy group Found Aware Childcare from America in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the cost of day care at a two-child center exceeds the average annual rent by 25% to more than 100%. The study found that the national average cost of child care for 2023 is $11,582, and it would take 10% of the median income of married parents or 32% of the median family income of a single parent to cover it.
This is highly recommended US Department of Health and Human Services child care should not exceed 7% of families’ annual income.
Meanwhile, online lender NetCredit found childcare costs more than public college tuition In 28 of the 50 states.
Aaron Ameen, a father of three young children, said he wanted specific answers from the candidates at Thursday night’s debate. He and his wife moved from Washington state to Cypress, Texas, when she was pregnant with their twins, in large part because of the high cost of childcare in their old neighborhood: Amin said it would have cost $5,000 a month for three children. children.
“The math just wasn’t adding up,” said consultant Ameen.
In Texas, a couple pays significantly less for day care for their 2-year-old and a nanny for their twin babies than they do in Washington. But his wife, a project manager, only works part-time, and they’re not sure if it’s worth it for him to finally return to full-time work because of the added cost of more childcare.
“With three kids, it’s quite a financial puzzle to solve,” she said. “Obviously, childcare costs are only part of the cost of raising a child.”
Democratic state Sen. Jabari Brisport, who chairs the Committee on Children and Families in New York, advocated for publicly funded universal child care and public funding to increase childcare workers’ wages. While watching the debate, he said he was “deeply disappointed” that neither candidate gave a real answer to the eligibility question.
“The costs were just out of control,” Brisport said. “This needs to be part of the national conversation until we fix it.”
He said he was particularly disappointed with Biden pushed for more affordable childcare before becoming president, he did not take the opportunity to be more specific.
Mary Ignatius, executive director of Parent Voices, a major organization focused on increasing accessibility and affordability of child care, said the issue needs more attention.
“Just like we’re talking about bridges and roads and schools and basic infrastructure, child care requires significant investment if we’re going to meet the needs of families in need,” she said. “But the return is very impressive.”