By Ellen Russell Beatty
Ponder This
Ellen Russell Beatty
Are we to waste precious energy arguing about the definition of infrastructure or the public good? The American Families Plan has been compared to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal by both proponents and critics alike. One need not look back that far in American history. The Republican party of yesteryear, under the capable leadership of President Dwight Eisenhower, undertook a massive infrastructure project to connect ocean to ocean in the US.
The ostensible goal was to create a secure transportation network, but the plan was also carefully designed by policymakers as a stimulus to create jobs and invigorate the economy. New hotels, restaurants and fuel stations were built across the land, creating small business opportunities for communities.
The Eisenhower initiative energized the economy as much as it created infrastructure. Eisenhower’s infrastructure plan served a dual purpose, starting an economic boom that invigorated the gross domestic product and created a robust middle class. Let us not forget our successes that can perfectly inform us as we tackle current challenges.
Corporate taxes partially paid for the successful master plan at a rate far above the current suggestions of a raise from to 28 percent. Corporate taxes were approximately 50 percent in the 1950s, and then 35 percent until the Great Recession and latest tax cuts in 2017.
One debate is whether increasing to a 28 percent corporate rate is feasible and effective, or what other revenue streams can adequately fund both the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan. The concept of whether we need, want and can benefit from a systematic childcare plan need not be contested.
The systems of education, health, housing, health care and the economy are interconnected and worthy of deliberate policy development. For those who critique the recent stimulus package as too far-reaching a policy initiative, I ask the question: What is social policy, if not goal-directed problem solving? All government actions – even taxes – become social policy if they influence societal problems such as poverty, unemployment, health care and education.
The wisest mantra is “not to decide is to decide.” An insidious legacy of unreached potential for our children can be the result of policy indecision. We can decide now and choose to use what research tells us: investments in childcare improve the physical and psychological wellbeing of the child and the community. The choice is literally ours. The benefits clearly outweigh the costs. Childcare will go a long way to reduce disparities that influence health and prosperity. It would improve the condition of all Americans in the 21st century.
Childcare enhances the employability of millions of families of young children, improves wages and benefits for workers, and the economy benefits from greater numbers of women in the workplace. The American Families Plan can be a collaborative effort to address challenges facing our communities and stimulate economic recovery. The American Families Plan will build a childcare system that serves us all.
There is no time and no room for anyone to be implacable. Potholes are bipartisan. Why not childcare?
I do hope that our president and our elected officials together look us in the eye and say clearly that they have the backs of the women and families of America.