this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2023
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I can't seem to shake the feeling that child care is in an economic death spiral right now.
If a child care facility follows NAEYC standards by having 2 teachers for 8 infants, there's no way around the fact that the revenue per child needs to cover 1/4 of the cost of a teacher's salary after all other expenses (rent, insurance, utilities, administrative overhead, supplies). If the costs attributable to that class is at $4000/month, and the teacher salaries (including taxes, insurance, retirement, PTO, paid holidays, etc.) are $4000/month, that's a total of $12k/month to split between 8 infants: $1500/month at minimum, or $2000/month for a minimal buffer/reserve against emergencies, vacancies, etc.
Meanwhile, the actual workers can't even afford to pay for that child care on their own salaries taking home $3000/month (cost to employer $4000/month), so they end up exiting the career when they have kids of their own, or their child care facility gives up a revenue spot as a perk for retaining workers (requiring a higher charge for all the other kids attending).
If the economics are unsustainable for the parents and for the workers, how can this industry avoid turning into a luxury service only for the rich?
This is why we need public childcare. Much like public transit and other tax funded goods it is something that services a greater societal and economic good, but is a huge burden on the non wealthy. The individual system we currently have doesnt work when businesses are trying to make a profit and when money is spread around like it is.