Crawling Behind

<p>“I’ve totally washed away the dream of having one more child.”</p><p>“I had never intended to be a stay-at-home-parent but the cost of child care turned me into one.”</p><p>“We had to pull our toddler out of his program because we couldn’t afford to have two kids in high-quality care.”</p><p>These are not the voices of those down on their luck but the voices of America’s middle class. The lack of affordable available high-quality childcare is a boulder on the backs of all but the most affluent. Millions of hard-working families are left gasping for air while the next generation misses out on a strong start.</p><p>To date we’ve been fighting this five-alarm fire with the policy equivalent of beach toy water buckets. It’s time for a bold investment in America’s families and America’s future. There’s only one viable solution: Childcare should be free.</p>