Increasing Funding For Childcare Centres Is The Wrong Policy Solution For American Mothers
A few days back, I watched in full with rapt attention Senator Elizabeth Warren leading the Senate Banking Committee Hearing on “Child Care Since the Pandemic: Macroeconomic Impacts of Public Policy Measures.” I am a mother of two beautiful children, a development economist, and a tech entrepreneur who has lived and worked internationally. Even so, I recommend that this federal funding for childcare be diverted towards a different policy solution. Instead of subsidizing daycare centers, it is high time that an advanced nation such as the US institutes a year-long, paid maternity leave for working mothers.
We heard impressive testimonies from experts in the childcare industry, infant formula industry, and labor economics. They presented persuasive arguments and evidence to the committee to continue Federal funding for childcare, post-pandemic beyond its end-September cliff. I could not agree more that federal funding is needed to correct the market failure of childcare provision. However, the distribution of these funds must be in such a way that makes it easy for mothers to care for their babies in ways only they can and pursue careers.
