A simple question on child care should have elicited a boilerplate response. Instead, it further revealed delusion.

Conservative opposition to social safety nets is nothing new. But, as daycare costs continue to soar and the US Surgeon General warns that parents are dangerously overwhelmed, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle appear to agree that at least something needs to be done to help address the crisis.

Yet when faced with a simple question on the issue this week, Donald Trump and JD Vance stumbled profoundly, prompting many to wonder whether the Republican ticket had even bothered to think about child care affordability—again, one of the most acute problems facing the US economy—at all.

Just take a look. Here was Trump at the Economic Club of New York on Thursday, rambling through an incomprehensible, half-baked theory that foreign tariffs will solve the problem, easy-peasy—all while dodging the question of specific pieces of legislation he’d push to help make child care more affordable. Meanwhile, economists widely agree that sweeping tariffs would severely hurt world trade.

  • Maeve
    18•2 months ago

    “One of the ways that you might be able to relieve a little bit of pressure on people who are paying so much for daycare is to make it so that grandma or grandpa wants to help out a little bit more,” Vance said at a Turning Point Action event in Mesa, Arizona, on Wednesday. “Or maybe there’s an aunt or uncle that wants to help out a little bit more. If that happens, you relieve some of the pressure on all the resources that we’re spending in daycare.”

    Yeah, good luck with that. My parents dumped me on their parents, then were conveniently absentee when I struggled with child care. It’s just another reason I’m so vocal about certain things needing to be socialized, like housing, medical, water, utilities, food, decent basic clothing, etc, and funding it by returning to 1950’s era tax policies.

    • Flying Squid
      10•2 months ago

      Also, these days, a lot of grandparents can’t afford to retire.

      On top of that, it would be ridiculous to expect them to take over childcare duties rather than enjoy their retirement. If they wanted to, fine. If they wanted to go travel the world or whatever they can afford to do, they’ve earned it.

      • Maeve
        1•2 months ago

        I’m sure some have. Mine were just incredibly cluster B, but could have definitely afforded it. Especially *one side. I’m not even angry at them anymore, because it’s plain to see why. I went through it, because multigenerational trauma is real and access to therapy, especially quality, is all but non existent. I just kept muddling through to get this far along, mostly by dumb luck and persistence and stubbornly, doggedly doing the work, mostly on my own. Cutting out drinking, doping (reefer, even) and most socializing helped. Not that I’m surrounded by bad people, they aren’t. They are good people, but also multigenerationally traumatized and in active alcoholism and other addiction, and not really interested in healing, just self-medicating. And a lot of the trauma is just being told what we went through is normal, therapies are evil, pray it all away, moral failure, etc.

    • rand_alpha19
      4•2 months ago

      Yeah, my parents have been living in Mexico off and on for years, and are about to move back. If I had kids, it would all be on me and my wife. Thankfully I don’t want kids, but other people do and they’re struggling. Grandparents can’t & won’t fix this problem.

      • Em Adespoton
        7•2 months ago

        Also, relying on relatives is a way of circumventing freedom of movement. It keeps everyone in the same place, at the same low paying jobs, with no hope of improving their or their children’s situation in life. Which is also perfectly in line with the Republican playbook.

        • rand_alpha19
          5•2 months ago

          Didn’t even think of that, but you’re right. Not that there’s anything wrong with not wanting to leave your hometown, but when you literally can’t due to finances, that’s pretty fucked. Especially since moving to a larger or different city can open up so many opportunities.

          As a personal example, I moved from a city with a lot of manufacturing to one with very little, and now I can’t find a job in my chosen field. Some other stuff has come up and I have relatively easy access to government financial aid, so I’ve decided to go back to college. So many others just don’t have that option so they’d be stuck in shitty or low-paying jobs.