President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been aggressively touting the benefits of the poorly named “Bidenomics” in an attempt to find something…anything…that they can hang their hats on going into campaign season. But the truth is no matter how much they try to tell you that the economy is in great shape, your pocketbook never lies.
The cost of maintaining a home, let alone buying a house, has become unimaginable and out of reach for most Americans. Additionally, parents’ ability to participate in the workforce to make some extra green is dwindling.
Child care is more expensive than ever and is expected to increase even further in the next few months. While these soaring costs are enough to cause any parent to feel that there are no other options to raise their most important assets, I might have a possible alternative.
Chart of the day from WSJ… inflation is falling, but child care prices just keep going up. Totally unsustainable trend for working parents and bad for the economy. https://t.co/EQzvWOjkGa pic.twitter.com/iaurdfkyfW
— Rebecca Buck (@RebeccaBuck) August 17, 2023
Where does the money go?
The Labor Department recently reported that the national average price for daycare and preschool rose 6% last month from the year prior. That puts the increase in childcare costs double that of the overall current rate of inflation.
A report released by Care.com showed that 67% of parents spend 20% of their household income on child care. That number is up from the 51% of parents spending 20% of their income on child care in 2022.
Additionally, 59% of parents spend an average of $18,000 per child per year on child care – be it daycare, afterschool care, or preschool. For families like mine with two kids, that’s a staggering $36,000.
To put that number into perspective, that’s the equivalent of 8 months’ worth of mortgage payments. It’s more than half of the median household income in this country.
The Department of Health and Human Services considers 7% of household income as affordable daycare.
The cost of child care has been steadily increasing over the last few decades; the recent surge in cost is thanks to three core issues:
- remote workers forced to return to the office
- child care providers struggling with increased costs for food and utilities
- end of federal aid Child Care Stabilization Program
But don’t worry; Uncle Joe says the economy is doing great! Stop complaining, you ungrateful parents!
Biden is taking out a huge ad buy to tout his results on “Bidenomics.”
Will he include that mortgage rates are at the highest level in 21 years?
Will he include that we have hit $1 TRILLION in credit card debt as a nation?
What about skyrocketing grocery prices?
What about…
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) August 20, 2023
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It’s the government’s fault
The Child Care Stabilization Program pumped $24 billion worth of aid to childcare providers to offset the repercussions of the COVID lockdowns. Now that COVID lockdowns are over, this aid is set to expire next month.
The Century Foundation estimates that over 70,000 childcare centers could close after the aid ceases, leaving three million kids without care. Some in Congress argue that the administration needs to find a way to pony up more cash that it doesn’t have to shell out to these childcare centers.
The irony that an act made by Big Government to restrict Americans on the false premise of universal safety is the very thing that is crippling American families isn’t lost on me. The soaring prices and push for workers to return to the office have many worried that we will see dual-income parents start to have conversations on which parent will sacrifice their careers for the betterment of the family.
Oh, the humanity, thinking a father or mother will have to choose between their professional legacy and familial responsibilities. In a recent Axios article titled ‘To Fix the Labor Shortage, Economists Point to Women – and Better Child Care,’ the solution lies with wait for it…more government.
Universal child care is what we need, they say, because the government manages massive social programs so well.
Roads and bridges make it possible for people to go to work—and we’ve come together as a nation to build them.
Child care makes it possible for working parents to go to work—and I’m fighting to make sure we come together as a nation and establish universal child care.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) August 21, 2023
Everything is fine; nothing to see here
Even mainstream media is starting to raise an eyebrow at the Biden administration’s argument that Bidenomics is working for the American people. On NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ Lanhee Chen of the Hoover Institution explained the failing strategy of Bidenomics:
“You’re trying to convince people of something; you’re trying to convince people their own impressions about the economy are wrong.”
“I’m a little confused by the whole ‘Bidenomics’ thing because you’re trying to convince people their own impressions about the economy are wrong,” says @lanheechen.
“At the end of the day, you can’t convince someone how they’re feeling about the economy is wrong.” pic.twitter.com/szlAOHVD3l
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 20, 2023
No matter how much Sleepy Joe and VP Harris try to tell you not to believe your lying eyes, trying to survive daily is getting harder and harder. According to the Lending Club, 61% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck with the below salary breakdown of those scraping by:
- 75% earning less than $50,000 live paycheck to paycheck
- 65% earning between $50,000 and $100,000 live paycheck to paycheck
- 45% earning more than $100,000 live paycheck to paycheck
Over 20 million American households are behind on their utility bills, and hardship withdrawals of 401(k)s have increased 35% from last year. The average American is spending $709 more per month on goods and services thanks to the below inflation numbers:
- cost of food up 4.9%
- cost of electricity up 3%
- car insurance up 17.8%
Founder of Life Planning Partners Carolyn McClanahan rightly states:
“It’s hard not to be a two-earner family.”
I agree, but it’s time to rethink our needs versus wants and what should be prioritized as an American family.
RELATED: Bidenomics Is Forcing You To Pay Hundreds More Per Month – Here’s The Proof
So retro
Choosing to get married and have children should be difficult decisions requiring extensive contemplation and discussion. Unfortunately, that rarely tends to be the case, as both decisions tend to be rooted in emotion and impulse.
Still, once you decide to have children, the reality is your own needs and wants go out the window because you are now the guardian of the most valued commodity in the world – the future. My husband and I had our kids while I was in the military.
During the last two years of my service, my husband was still working as a police officer while I was active duty military. This meant our children required daycare, which was, as it is now, very expensive.
After carefully considering and analyzing our budget, we decided that one of us needed to stay home. Since I made more money than my husband and couldn’t just quit due to my contractual obligation to my country, my husband left his career as a law enforcement officer and became a stay-at-home dad.
Oh give it up. Reading comprehension matters.
1. There’s nothing wrong with being a stay at home mom.
2. He said parents. Moms and dads are parents. “It used to be, you could support a family on a single income,” DeSantis said, so that “parents have options”
— Layla collins (@Collinslayla) August 13, 2023
It was a difficult choice, but one that had to be made and has paid off not just financially but emotionally for our children, who have a constant parental figure in their lives, providing them the care and socialization they need. Not every family can have a stay-at-home parent, but if you can, sacrificing career for your children is a noble decision and not one that should be scoffed at.
If you are waiting on the government to fix your financial woes, you’ll be splitting pennies in no time. It’s time to make some hard sacrifices, fellow parents, and adjust your vision of that perfect lifestyle for one more realistic and sustainable long term.
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