Childcare's in Chaos. Private Equity & For-Profit Chains Are Swooping In
November 1, 2022 2:06 PM Subscribe
As the industry consolidates, it runs the risk of putting profits ahead of kids—and setting back the movement for universal childcare. (archive.ph link)
Having not read the article, and being two glasses of wine into dinner, I'm so sick of the corporatization and whittling down of services to optimize profit of pretty much every corner of human existence in this country and I have no clue what to do about it. It's really dehumanizing and I hate it.
posted by newpotato at 3:09 PM on November 1, 2022 [36 favorites]
posted by newpotato at 3:09 PM on November 1, 2022 [36 favorites]
Is there anything that Private Equity can't ruin?
posted by drewbage1847 at 3:18 PM on November 1, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by drewbage1847 at 3:18 PM on November 1, 2022 [10 favorites]
Itself, sadly.
posted by humbug at 4:03 PM on November 1, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by humbug at 4:03 PM on November 1, 2022 [6 favorites]
Sigh... I am reminded of Joe Biden making some statement calling on corporations not to take advantage of inflation to just raise their prices for no reason. Instead of passing and enforcing laws, because that would be hard. I am afraid if the US does start to provide support it will be to hand money directly to the corporations and say "please be nice".
posted by Emmy Rae at 4:43 PM on November 1, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by Emmy Rae at 4:43 PM on November 1, 2022 [5 favorites]
Instead of passing and enforcing laws, because that would be hard.
I openly challenge you to describe any kind of pro-childcare legislation that could get past the GOP/Manchin/Sinema and which doesn't involve just handing money to large corporations.
It's not just hard; hard problems are solved all the time! It's impossible. Like accelerating past the speed of light impossible.
Yes, yes, I know other countries could manage it -- that's not the issue. Other countries aren't so profoundly damaged. In fact, if you do manage to come up with a possible legislative solution, I'd encourage you to NOT actually try to get it passed, as I'm pretty sure the Parler crew would be calling for your execution in about ten seconds. That's how damaged the country is.
posted by aramaic at 4:52 PM on November 1, 2022 [17 favorites]
I openly challenge you to describe any kind of pro-childcare legislation that could get past the GOP/Manchin/Sinema and which doesn't involve just handing money to large corporations.
It's not just hard; hard problems are solved all the time! It's impossible. Like accelerating past the speed of light impossible.
Yes, yes, I know other countries could manage it -- that's not the issue. Other countries aren't so profoundly damaged. In fact, if you do manage to come up with a possible legislative solution, I'd encourage you to NOT actually try to get it passed, as I'm pretty sure the Parler crew would be calling for your execution in about ten seconds. That's how damaged the country is.
posted by aramaic at 4:52 PM on November 1, 2022 [17 favorites]
This is so awful. I know there are all sorts of interesting details but as per above, how can any reasonable and good idea possibly be enacted in our current US situation against the will of our corporate owners?
Maybe all threads like this should talk about voting reform and other ways we might conceivably move past this ultra-capitalist/broken/damaged hellscape that will kill us all if we let it keep going?.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:37 PM on November 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
Maybe all threads like this should talk about voting reform and other ways we might conceivably move past this ultra-capitalist/broken/damaged hellscape that will kill us all if we let it keep going?.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:37 PM on November 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
I openly challenge you to describe any kind of pro-childcare legislation that could get past the GOP/Manchin/Sinema and which doesn't involve just handing money to large corporations.
I'm well aware. I don't recall the exact circumstance of him saying this, I was driving and listening to the radio. The point to me was that he didn't even propose anything. There was no idea to bring into the discourse, even if it would get knocked down. Just a pathetic plea to evil people to do the right thing.
Perhaps a more relevant example is here in my home state of Minnesota, where the legislature passed "reinsurance" to basically pre-thank the insurance companies for not hiking insurance rates to new outrageous heights. The money came with no restrictions, just a vague hope that things would work out. That is the type of thing I fear even good legislation being watered down into.
posted by Emmy Rae at 6:20 PM on November 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
I'm well aware. I don't recall the exact circumstance of him saying this, I was driving and listening to the radio. The point to me was that he didn't even propose anything. There was no idea to bring into the discourse, even if it would get knocked down. Just a pathetic plea to evil people to do the right thing.
Perhaps a more relevant example is here in my home state of Minnesota, where the legislature passed "reinsurance" to basically pre-thank the insurance companies for not hiking insurance rates to new outrageous heights. The money came with no restrictions, just a vague hope that things would work out. That is the type of thing I fear even good legislation being watered down into.
posted by Emmy Rae at 6:20 PM on November 1, 2022 [3 favorites]
1. outlaw abortion
2. industrial childcare
3. ????
4. Profit!!
posted by BlueHorse at 8:14 PM on November 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
2. industrial childcare
3. ????
4. Profit!!
posted by BlueHorse at 8:14 PM on November 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
Sigh... I am reminded of Joe Biden making some statement calling on corporations not to take advantage of inflation to just raise their prices for no reason. Instead of passing and enforcing laws, because that would be hard
What struck me about this is this kind of political communication is common in uh... countries where "state-owned enterprises" or "government-linked companies" is an objective fact. A political leader can do this kind of populist statement simply because they've got Treasury presence at either executive board level or shareholder level ("golden share"). I'm not sure if this kind of normative lever is actually present in the US for Biden to say so? Because you're right: USA's habit is to take out the carrot and just go straight to the regulation stick. (I tend to point out to civil servants here, their permitted work travel has no legal compulsion to use our national airline the way anyone funded by American public funds has to because of the Fly America Act.)
posted by cendawanita at 10:45 PM on November 1, 2022
What struck me about this is this kind of political communication is common in uh... countries where "state-owned enterprises" or "government-linked companies" is an objective fact. A political leader can do this kind of populist statement simply because they've got Treasury presence at either executive board level or shareholder level ("golden share"). I'm not sure if this kind of normative lever is actually present in the US for Biden to say so? Because you're right: USA's habit is to take out the carrot and just go straight to the regulation stick. (I tend to point out to civil servants here, their permitted work travel has no legal compulsion to use our national airline the way anyone funded by American public funds has to because of the Fly America Act.)
posted by cendawanita at 10:45 PM on November 1, 2022
Shades of Neal Stephenson, gonna warehouse these kids ...
I appreciated the contrast with what Canada and Australia are doing in the article. It seems obvious that the best way to encourage people to have more children is to make affordable... And yet...
This article also dovetails with that Atlantic article from a few months ago about "pink collar" burnout. There's a huge staffing shortage in nursing, education and childcare right now because these fields are dangerous (during COVID times), under compensated, and stressful. And women are looking at the childcare numbers and they just don't work out.
And then of course, the more people leave these fields, the more burden falls on the people who remain....
I'm having a kid this year, I'm also a high school teacher, my teaching burden in terms of class sizes and number of students and administrative tasks is greater than it's EVER been and with inflation the money is also tight. It's a lot.
posted by subdee at 4:16 AM on November 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
I appreciated the contrast with what Canada and Australia are doing in the article. It seems obvious that the best way to encourage people to have more children is to make affordable... And yet...
This article also dovetails with that Atlantic article from a few months ago about "pink collar" burnout. There's a huge staffing shortage in nursing, education and childcare right now because these fields are dangerous (during COVID times), under compensated, and stressful. And women are looking at the childcare numbers and they just don't work out.
And then of course, the more people leave these fields, the more burden falls on the people who remain....
I'm having a kid this year, I'm also a high school teacher, my teaching burden in terms of class sizes and number of students and administrative tasks is greater than it's EVER been and with inflation the money is also tight. It's a lot.
posted by subdee at 4:16 AM on November 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
I'm well aware. I don't recall the exact circumstance of him saying this, I was driving and listening to the radio. The point to me was that he didn't even propose anything. There was no idea to bring into the discourse, even if it would get knocked down. Just a pathetic plea to evil people to do the right thing.
Did you decide that Biden has done nothing without checking first?
https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/3/23290933/federal-spending-bill-cuts-child-care-preschool-biden-manchin
Did you decide that Biden has done nothing without checking first?
https://www.chalkbeat.org/2022/8/3/23290933/federal-spending-bill-cuts-child-care-preschool-biden-manchin
Last fall, President Joe Biden proposed unprecedented new funding for child care and preschool in his $2 trillion Build Back Better package. But the plan foundered in December after Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin objected, and Republicans were unified against it.posted by Fleebnork at 6:15 AM on November 2, 2022 [7 favorites]
It was just an example of a politician saying something that had no real action behind it. I'm outta here, the last word is all yours, Fleebnork.
posted by Emmy Rae at 9:04 AM on November 2, 2022
posted by Emmy Rae at 9:04 AM on November 2, 2022
I'm not sure if this kind of normative lever is actually present in the US for Biden to say so?
AFAIK no, the US — and the UK? — even made a big deal of making the Treasury itself sort of independent. There’s regulation and there’s money with strings on, mostly, and the Treasury and the rest of the government can work at cross purposes .
We had more constraints by the end of WWII but they’ve largely been dismantled or just ignored. Although a corporate merger (publishing) was recently forbidden on the grounds of excessive monopsony power.
posted by clew at 12:20 PM on November 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
AFAIK no, the US — and the UK? — even made a big deal of making the Treasury itself sort of independent. There’s regulation and there’s money with strings on, mostly, and the Treasury and the rest of the government can work at cross purposes .
We had more constraints by the end of WWII but they’ve largely been dismantled or just ignored. Although a corporate merger (publishing) was recently forbidden on the grounds of excessive monopsony power.
posted by clew at 12:20 PM on November 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
My wife was a Director for Kindercare and other companies pre-pandemic. She was running the after school program for a Catholic School in March. Being immune compromised, she did not go back in Fall 2020 and stayed out of the workforce until about March this year. She is substitute teaching for Kindercare, and resisting their constant efforts to recruit her back into management.
She subs at a nicer, newer, center in a wealthier part of town. It's still pretty much a shitshow. She is almost the senior teacher there, as a part-time sub with 8 months seniority.
posted by COD at 3:04 PM on November 2, 2022
She subs at a nicer, newer, center in a wealthier part of town. It's still pretty much a shitshow. She is almost the senior teacher there, as a part-time sub with 8 months seniority.
posted by COD at 3:04 PM on November 2, 2022
It was just an example of a politician saying something that had no real action behind it. I'm outta here, the last word is all yours, Fleebnork.
In many, many, many discussions here and elsewhere, people embrace the narrative that the Dems "do nothing". I encounter this with my left leaning friends all the time. Republicans love it when we blame Dems for everything.
The whole narrative of hopelessness around saying all politicians are bad and do nothing plays right into the Republicans' hands. They love to push the "both sides are bad" idea and hope you'll just stay home out of frustration.
It's very important to recognize when our politicians are actually trying to do something, and when those efforts are derailed by Republicans.
posted by Fleebnork at 5:11 AM on November 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
In many, many, many discussions here and elsewhere, people embrace the narrative that the Dems "do nothing". I encounter this with my left leaning friends all the time. Republicans love it when we blame Dems for everything.
The whole narrative of hopelessness around saying all politicians are bad and do nothing plays right into the Republicans' hands. They love to push the "both sides are bad" idea and hope you'll just stay home out of frustration.
It's very important to recognize when our politicians are actually trying to do something, and when those efforts are derailed by Republicans.
posted by Fleebnork at 5:11 AM on November 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
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