Social Issues Are at the Core of Our Problems

With abortion rights being such a divisive topic in our society, with each side hurling anti- life accusations at one another and both groups claiming to have vulnerable women's best interests at heart, why couldn't both groups stand behind an initiative that permitted any low-income pregnant woman who chooses to parent her child to have a guaranteed tax-funded voucher for 24 hour childcare at the facility of their choice, for say the first five years of the child's life? For those concerned about the availability and cost of entitlements, let's assume pregnant women could have the choice of guaranteed housing, utility and food vouchers or guaranteed childcare (I am guessing those expenses would be surprisingly comparable.) Of course, private charities could help provide for other needs. It seems like anything we heavily subsidize we receive more of. Wouldn't we want easy access to reliable, high quality childcare for low-income mothers, that would allow them to commit to any work or class schedule that would help them become more financially independent? I am sure I am missing some logistical challenges here that I welcome you to point out, and I am assuming that most women would use their child-free time for family sustaining as opposed to family destroying pursuits (i.e. drug use or other illegal activities). I just think about how much nurturing and supervision children need at that early stage in life, and mothers are in a better position to provide that for their children when they have guaranteed time to themselves each day to take care of the myriad of parental duties that demand their attention.

The current problem, as I see it, from having worked more than a decade in social justice issues, education, and nonprofits national and local (some receiving taxpayer funds and some receiving only local funds), is that when we continue to pay an able-bodied adult's rent, year after year, they have no incentive to learn how to manage their own money and to earn the funds that would allow them to pay their rent without us. Same with food stamps. Same with utilities. And they lose every bit of pride that makes them want to get up in the morning, dress appropriately, turn off the tv when their children are around and the content is inappropriate, speak respectfully to people they don’t know, and so on. By removing the ostensible barrier to employment, "the care for the baby/toddler", women are free to commit to any job or class schedule that works for them.

In my various jobs, I would see women with government-issued childcare vouchers whose hours got cut at work, or they got laid off. After enough time, their voucher was voided. Then, their child lost the slot in the daycare. Then, the mother would be toting the child around town, two hours round trip on the bus, making stops at nonprofits that can only offer paltry assistance due to limited funds. At age 24 as a new mother, I was horrified to see a woman in the waiting room at our nonprofit yank her little one up by the arm and yell at him in front of everyone there. Now, I thank God that I don't face that type of pressure every day. No doubt the father of the baby is long gone, or just drops in in when he wants a good time.

I can't imagine anything more empowering to a young woman overwhelmed by an unplanned pregnancy, who just can't see past tomorrow, to have someone tell her, "We've got your baby’s childcare covered for 5 years - you choose the provider. Now, what employment field do you want to enter?" No waiting on baby daddy to come home from a drunken night with friends so you can leave for your night shift. No waking up in a panic, to find he's not there, when you need to be at work in two hours and you have no other childcare. No losing your job when your employer just cannot keep a coworker covering for you when the man who said he loved you is nowhere to be found and won’t pick up his cell phone. I firmly believe many woman defy their natural instincts in our society, to accommodate the sexual whims of men whom our society infantilizes by advertising consequence-free sex through nearly every TV station, every song, every movie., etc. But lord, does it sell!

MC of LA 8:29PM February 28, 2012