By Nicky Krause

After attending the Community Conversation for Change in New Glarus, a big takeaway, for me, was that Wisconsin’s lack of investment in early childhood education and the childcare industry is not only shameful, in a moral sense, but also bad for the financial security of Wisconsin families and the general economic health of the state. 

Even if you are unconvinced by the moral imperative to provide support networks for kids in need, it is obvious that failing to invest in childcare is a shortsighted dismissal of a big-picture cost-benefit calculation. Clearly, in terms of taxpayer money as well as individual out-of-pocket costs, we end up paying bigtime for the negative downstream effects of neglecting young kids and the childcare industry. 

We pay for it in the form of chronic health issues and needless strain on the medical system, or in the cost of expanding prison systems, or in small business owners’ difficulty securing a reliable workforce when parents can’t afford (or simply can’t find) any childcare and are forced to stay at home. We also risk pushing away talented people and industries who will choose to set up shop in other states that will meet their own childcare needs or those of their employees. 

This is needlessly harmful to Wisconsin, and it is difficult to understand lawmakers’ hesitancy. What is the problem, exactly? Does the lack of will to address these issues arise from some competing economic argument? Is there an economic incentive for someone (not sure whom), for example, to ensure that Wisconsin families continue funneling their money into the medical system or the prison system (or some other industry who might feasibly suffer economically if we actually solved these childcare problems)? 

I would be interested to hear someone make a counter-argument to supporting childcare, because I currently don’t see one, and I suspect it would spark a serious and useful discussion of where both our economic and moral priorities lie.

With the evidence I have seen, I strongly support the proposed $340 million continuation of Child Care Counts and would encourage others to support it as well. I would like to see my representatives make an effort to understand public opinion and public need about this, and to act accordingly.