August 19, 2023 • 10 mins
Working families around New England and the country are struggling to find balance when it comes to child care. Not only is it more expensive than ever, but it's becoming more and more difficult to find a space for children in programs. Centers closing during the height of the pandemic made the problem that much worse, forcing parents out of the workforce. Politicians on both sides of the aisle say it's time to find a solution to this growing crisis. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) spoke with Nichole recently to share her thoughts on the situation.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:07):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston.This is New England Weekend, where each
and every week we come together talkabout all the topics important to you and
the place where you live. Greatto be back with you again this week.
I'm Nicole Davis. Working families aroundMassachusetts and the country have been struggling
for years to find balance when itcomes to childcare. Not only has the
(00:28):
cost of childcare skyrocketed in recent years, but it's becoming scarcer by the day
frankly to find a spot for kidsin programs. There was a recent study
by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, and this one really blew my mind.
It shows the average annual cost ofinfantcare here in Massachusetts, just for
babies often surpasses that of in statecollege tuition. Financial strain like this can
(00:52):
lead a lot of parents to strugglewith some serious decisions. Do they cut
their work hours back and stay homeand take care of their kids? But
then happens when there's not enough moneycoming in. It's decisions like this that
often lead working families into cycles ofmajor financial instability or poverty. Something else
that didn't help is that during theheight of the pandemic childcare centers all over
the state shut down, I puta lot more stress on working families and
(01:17):
made access to safe childcare even moredifficult. Experts say, overall, there
are just so many impacts here whenaffordable childcare is not an option. We're
talking about gender diversity in the workforce, the economy at large, and a
lot more. This isn't even aone party issue. There's been a lot
of Republicans on Capitol Hill lately,including Rep. Nancy Mace, who've been
(01:37):
calling for attention to this problem andquick solutions to help out working families.
I had a chance recently to speakwith Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. We talked
for a few minutes about her thoughtson the future of childcare and really not
even just nationally, but Massachusetts specifically. We also spoke to about the future
of the funding that came down duringthe pandemic to keep childcare centers afloat and
(02:00):
what could come next, where thatmoney could come from. So here's that
conversation. So I think of itthis way. As a nation, we
invest in roads and bridgets, whyso people can get to work and so
businesses can get their products out.We invest in an electric grid right,
And we invest in a broadband everywhere, why because it helps support economic activity
(02:23):
in the country, But we don'tmake that same kind of investment in childcare.
And yet, if you want mommasand daddies to be able to go
to work, somebody has got tobe taken care of the little ones.
And the United States right now iswe are the bottom of the thirty seven
(02:44):
richest nations in the world in termsof what we spend to help support childcare
in our country. We just can'tbuild a strong economic future going forward unless
we're willing to make that investment.The economics won't support it. Parents cannot
afford what it really takes to beable to provide high quality childcare for our
(03:10):
children, and so we just gotto put more public support into this.
Now, what would you say topeople who might say, Look, I
didn't choose to have kids, ormy kids are grown. Why is this
my problem? Why do I haveto subsidize this? You know I wouldn't
put a say on this. Doyou understand what it takes to build an
entire economy? We need all thoseworkers at work. It affects you and
(03:36):
whether or not you're going to beable to get the goods and services that
you want to be able to get. Look, I am very unlikely to
drive on a highway in South Dakota. Nonetheless, I pay into a system
that makes sure that there are highwaysin South Dakota. Young people are not
saying that they don't want to payinto Social Security because it only is by
(04:00):
older people. And it's a notionthat we all pay in because it helps
us build a stronger, more robusteconomy. Overall, we invest in public
education because having an educated workforce isgood force. And by the way,
I should use that as a chanceto underline we call it childcare. It's
(04:26):
early childhood education. Getting those babies, those little ones, into places where
there are lots of bright colors andnew things to play with, and they
hear many words, and they geta chance to be around other children.
That's a big part of what makesthem ready for kindergarten and first grade and
(04:46):
on through a successful twelve years inpublic education. Those investments pay us back
many times over. The research showsthe dollars we put in in too high
quality early childhood education pay us backin children who then do well in school
(05:09):
and who go on and succeed asadults. A nation that doesn't invest in
as kids is a nation that isnot building a strong future for itself.
You mentioned how the childcare industry inyour obed. You mentioned how the industry
is already struggling with staffing and resources, and COVID really underlined that what do
(05:30):
you think is driving these issues?Like why are people not working in childcare?
What's keeping them away? And howdo you hope to change that?
Boy, there's a really easy answeron this one. It just doesn't pay
enough. It just literally does notpay up. I was talking to a
childcare provider and she was explaining tome how they have rooms. They are
(05:50):
fully outfitted, you know, littletables from chairs and books and so on.
But the problem is you can't getenough people to work. And she
said she has a very high turnover. And by the way, before COVID,
the turnover in the childcare industry wasabout thirty percent a year. That
is about a third of the workforceturned over every year. So I said
(06:10):
to her, so why do youlose workers? And she said, well,
they pay more at the gas stationdown the street. So she said
she loses them to convenience stores,to gas stations. That are able to
pay more than we're able to payour childcare workers. And the reason is
just the basic economics. Working familiescannot afford to pay huge amounts for childcare.
(06:36):
You know, we pay among thehighest here in Massachusetts for childcare,
and even at that, it meanschildcare workers are working, may have them
right at minimum wage and given theresponsibilities they have. Frankly, given how
hard the work is and how demandingthe work is, people just say I
(07:00):
can make more money working not sohard. And that's why it is.
We need to put more money intochildcare, just like we do into public
schools. Now, you mentioned how, of course inflation. I think about
that. I think about how pricesare higher for pretty much everything here in
Massachusetts, especially where do we wantthe money to come from to boost childcare
(07:24):
facilities and boost these programs. Howmuch money are you looking at here?
What is the solution to get thingsback to good? So the problem let's
do both short term and long term. Okay, the short term problem is
that during the pandemic, childcare justwent into complete crisis. The federal government
(07:44):
poured money into trying to get childcarecenters open again. The problem is in
the next couple of months, we'reabout to run out of that money,
and so childcare is going to goover a funding cliff. And I'm asking
the President to put more federal dollars, about sixteen billion dollars nationwide in the
(08:07):
childcare just to hold us steady wherewe are. If we don't do that,
we're going to see roughly about threemillion babies and toddlers lose their childcare
slots. As hat means are alot of moments and daddies who are going
to have to turn around and sayto their employers, I can't come in,
(08:28):
or I can't come in the samehours, or they've got to put
their babies in places that are notas safe and not as good for them.
So that's the short term. Weneed money. We need it from
the federal government right now to makesure we don't tumble over a cliff.
And I want to give real credithere to Governor Healey, who's trying to
do everything she can here in Massachusetts. But it is a massive problem,
(08:52):
and big problems like this, Ithink we need federal dollars long term.
What I'm pushing or is that wehave childcare and we guarantee it to all
our families, and no family shouldhave to pay more than seven percent of
their income on childcare. If youmake more, you'll pay more for the
childcare. If you make less,we want you're working, you'll pay less
(09:16):
for your childcare. But we wantto see young families, families with children
so that mama and daddy can getinto the workforce. But those children have
first rate early childhood education experiences.The United States should not be thirty fifth
out of the thirty seven richest nationsin terms of what we spend on our
(09:39):
children. We should make this investment, and I think we should do that
with our federal tax dollars. Itis our nation that does better if we
invest in our children. Have asafe and healthy weekend. Please join me
again next week for another edition ofthe show. I'm Nicole Davis from WBZ
News Radio on iHeartRadio.
From WBZ News Radio in Boston.This is New England Weekend, where each
and every week we come together talkabout all the topics important to you and
the place where you live. Greatto be back with you again this week.
I'm Nicole Davis. Working families aroundMassachusetts and the country have been struggling
for years to find balance when itcomes to childcare. Not only has the
(00:28):
cost of childcare skyrocketed in recent years, but it's becoming scarcer by the day
frankly to find a spot for kidsin programs. There was a recent study
by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, and this one really blew my mind.
It shows the average annual cost ofinfantcare here in Massachusetts, just for
babies often surpasses that of in statecollege tuition. Financial strain like this can
(00:52):
lead a lot of parents to strugglewith some serious decisions. Do they cut
their work hours back and stay homeand take care of their kids? But
then happens when there's not enough moneycoming in. It's decisions like this that
often lead working families into cycles ofmajor financial instability or poverty. Something else
that didn't help is that during theheight of the pandemic childcare centers all over
the state shut down, I puta lot more stress on working families and
(01:17):
made access to safe childcare even moredifficult. Experts say, overall, there
are just so many impacts here whenaffordable childcare is not an option. We're
talking about gender diversity in the workforce, the economy at large, and a
lot more. This isn't even aone party issue. There's been a lot
of Republicans on Capitol Hill lately,including Rep. Nancy Mace, who've been
(01:37):
calling for attention to this problem andquick solutions to help out working families.
I had a chance recently to speakwith Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. We talked
for a few minutes about her thoughtson the future of childcare and really not
even just nationally, but Massachusetts specifically. We also spoke to about the future
of the funding that came down duringthe pandemic to keep childcare centers afloat and
(02:00):
what could come next, where thatmoney could come from. So here's that
conversation. So I think of itthis way. As a nation, we
invest in roads and bridgets, whyso people can get to work and so
businesses can get their products out.We invest in an electric grid right,
And we invest in a broadband everywhere, why because it helps support economic activity
(02:23):
in the country, But we don'tmake that same kind of investment in childcare.
And yet, if you want mommasand daddies to be able to go
to work, somebody has got tobe taken care of the little ones.
And the United States right now iswe are the bottom of the thirty seven
(02:44):
richest nations in the world in termsof what we spend to help support childcare
in our country. We just can'tbuild a strong economic future going forward unless
we're willing to make that investment.The economics won't support it. Parents cannot
afford what it really takes to beable to provide high quality childcare for our
(03:10):
children, and so we just gotto put more public support into this.
Now, what would you say topeople who might say, Look, I
didn't choose to have kids, ormy kids are grown. Why is this
my problem? Why do I haveto subsidize this? You know I wouldn't
put a say on this. Doyou understand what it takes to build an
entire economy? We need all thoseworkers at work. It affects you and
(03:36):
whether or not you're going to beable to get the goods and services that
you want to be able to get. Look, I am very unlikely to
drive on a highway in South Dakota. Nonetheless, I pay into a system
that makes sure that there are highwaysin South Dakota. Young people are not
saying that they don't want to payinto Social Security because it only is by
(04:00):
older people. And it's a notionthat we all pay in because it helps
us build a stronger, more robusteconomy. Overall, we invest in public
education because having an educated workforce isgood force. And by the way,
I should use that as a chanceto underline we call it childcare. It's
(04:26):
early childhood education. Getting those babies, those little ones, into places where
there are lots of bright colors andnew things to play with, and they
hear many words, and they geta chance to be around other children.
That's a big part of what makesthem ready for kindergarten and first grade and
(04:46):
on through a successful twelve years inpublic education. Those investments pay us back
many times over. The research showsthe dollars we put in in too high
quality early childhood education pay us backin children who then do well in school
(05:09):
and who go on and succeed asadults. A nation that doesn't invest in
as kids is a nation that isnot building a strong future for itself.
You mentioned how the childcare industry inyour obed. You mentioned how the industry
is already struggling with staffing and resources, and COVID really underlined that what do
(05:30):
you think is driving these issues?Like why are people not working in childcare?
What's keeping them away? And howdo you hope to change that?
Boy, there's a really easy answeron this one. It just doesn't pay
enough. It just literally does notpay up. I was talking to a
childcare provider and she was explaining tome how they have rooms. They are
(05:50):
fully outfitted, you know, littletables from chairs and books and so on.
But the problem is you can't getenough people to work. And she
said she has a very high turnover. And by the way, before COVID,
the turnover in the childcare industry wasabout thirty percent a year. That
is about a third of the workforceturned over every year. So I said
(06:10):
to her, so why do youlose workers? And she said, well,
they pay more at the gas stationdown the street. So she said
she loses them to convenience stores,to gas stations. That are able to
pay more than we're able to payour childcare workers. And the reason is
just the basic economics. Working familiescannot afford to pay huge amounts for childcare.
(06:36):
You know, we pay among thehighest here in Massachusetts for childcare,
and even at that, it meanschildcare workers are working, may have them
right at minimum wage and given theresponsibilities they have. Frankly, given how
hard the work is and how demandingthe work is, people just say I
(07:00):
can make more money working not sohard. And that's why it is.
We need to put more money intochildcare, just like we do into public
schools. Now, you mentioned how, of course inflation. I think about
that. I think about how pricesare higher for pretty much everything here in
Massachusetts, especially where do we wantthe money to come from to boost childcare
(07:24):
facilities and boost these programs. Howmuch money are you looking at here?
What is the solution to get thingsback to good? So the problem let's
do both short term and long term. Okay, the short term problem is
that during the pandemic, childcare justwent into complete crisis. The federal government
(07:44):
poured money into trying to get childcarecenters open again. The problem is in
the next couple of months, we'reabout to run out of that money,
and so childcare is going to goover a funding cliff. And I'm asking
the President to put more federal dollars, about sixteen billion dollars nationwide in the
(08:07):
childcare just to hold us steady wherewe are. If we don't do that,
we're going to see roughly about threemillion babies and toddlers lose their childcare
slots. As hat means are alot of moments and daddies who are going
to have to turn around and sayto their employers, I can't come in,
(08:28):
or I can't come in the samehours, or they've got to put
their babies in places that are notas safe and not as good for them.
So that's the short term. Weneed money. We need it from
the federal government right now to makesure we don't tumble over a cliff.
And I want to give real credithere to Governor Healey, who's trying to
do everything she can here in Massachusetts. But it is a massive problem,
(08:52):
and big problems like this, Ithink we need federal dollars long term.
What I'm pushing or is that wehave childcare and we guarantee it to all
our families, and no family shouldhave to pay more than seven percent of
their income on childcare. If youmake more, you'll pay more for the
childcare. If you make less,we want you're working, you'll pay less
(09:16):
for your childcare. But we wantto see young families, families with children
so that mama and daddy can getinto the workforce. But those children have
first rate early childhood education experiences.The United States should not be thirty fifth
out of the thirty seven richest nationsin terms of what we spend on our
(09:39):
children. We should make this investment, and I think we should do that
with our federal tax dollars. Itis our nation that does better if we
invest in our children. Have asafe and healthy weekend. Please join me
again next week for another edition ofthe show. I'm Nicole Davis from WBZ
News Radio on iHeartRadio.
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