By all accounts, the presidential election is so close that a relatively few votes in any given state could make all the difference. And, since a recent survey showed nearly 9 in 10 parents said a candidate’s position on child care access and affordability would help determine their vote, it’s no wonder both major contenders are talking about how they’re going to help lower the cost of child care.
Critics have panned Kamala Harris’ idea to cap child care expenses as a percentage of income, because it lacks a funding mechanism or realistic cost estimates. Trump and Vance, on the other hand, have proposed increasing child tax credits, which would also help parents who care for their kids at home.
But the solution to child care costs is not to subsidize demand, that is, pay parents to send their kids to daycare. That’s what we’ve done with higher education grants and loans, and it’s only driven up costs.
The only sustainable solution to high costs is to make child care more efficient and productive, thereby encouraging more providers to enter the market and, in turn, driving down costs for parents. We do that by addressing all the ways government already makes child care more expensive.
These costly requirements come in two buckets: licensing and zoning. Of course, state licensing requirements can include some reasonable safety rules that every child care provider should follow. But the evidence suggests that some of these requirements are excessive. […]
— Read More: issuesinsights.com
