Hi, it's me - I know it's been a while, but I've been deep inside that bubble I mentioned when everything first happened in November 2020 and I am starting to emerge having done some serious healing and navigating within the trauma of being a suicide survivor and a sole parent.
This has nothing to do with that though.
I'm dumping this thought here because I need it documented:
You know how the conservative crowd tends to use "Well I don't have any children, why should I help pay for the schools?" and "People are just too lazy to work, I don't know why we need social services to help people pay for their child care and food?"
I'm noticing those are the same voices I hear in restaurants complaining that there are no servers. No bartenders. No one available to change their oil or to do other trade work. And no one to watch their children.
The CEO of the company I work for posted a big response about how child care is the gatekeeper to folks getting back to work and helping to lift the economy back up. What if child care didn't cost your entire paycheck? What if - I know this is crazy - we as a country identified that almost no one can go to work without someone to help raise the children? This isn't the 1950's. Moms aren't always at home, cleaning and cooking all day and able to pick up the children and have cookies on the table after school and dinner ready at 5:00 while the father is working at a corporate job, making enough to support their family. This is 2021 and living wages are so low that mom and dad both have to work (sometimes more than one job each) and families with only one parent? Um yeah, you can see where this is going. Child care should be subsidized for EVERYONE. If you want to have a nanny or you are able to stay at home, great. Do that if it's best for your family. But we need to overhaul this entire system of care if we are going to move forward. It won't be enough to get back to "normal" because normal wasn't working. People now have options for work as there are so many vacancies.
"If people want a job, why don't they just get one? Everyone is hiring!!"
Yep, lots of folks are hiring - but some with no benefits and at low wages that cannot possibly support the cost of child care. So many have found workarounds to make things work for their family. And let's not gloss over the loss of life - the United States has lost over 700 THOUSAND lives to the COVID pandemic and that's just the cases that were directly attributed - don't forget that everyone was ranting about "the toll of having to stay home" and the increase in domestic violence and suicide. The people aren't here. There are vacancies because THE PEOPLE AREN'T ALIVE.
We need to do better for our children so that they can one day say we rebuilt our nation to make it better. To make it inclusive and successful. If we are going to make claims that we are the best nation, we better get our poop in a group and do it.
Cheers to change - and to me being back on my soap box.
I'll share more updates on our family life soon.
xo
Danie
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