Earlier this month, Donald Trump took to the stage claiming to have an economic plan to help America's working families. But what he actually talked about that day, not to mention what he's said throughout his campaign, shows that he is badly out of touch with reality.
It's great that the man who has five children but brags about never having changed a diaper recognizes child care is a key challenge facing American families. But his so-called plan falls far short of what families like ours need. For someone who claims to challenge the Republican establishment, Trump's plan is a party-line proposal _ yet another tax deduction that mostly benefits the wealthiest Americans.
For one of us, a single mom and nurse raising three boys, his plan provides little help. Deductions come once a year and I have to cover my child care costs each and every month _ which can be as much or more than rent or a mortgage, or even college tuition. The reality is, many underpaid working parents don't earn enough to receive a tax deduction in the first place _ so Trump's plan leaves behind the very families most in need of support.
Luckily, Trump's plan is not the only choice in this election. Hillary Clinton has been a leader on child care issues her entire life, and her extensive childcare plan will help millions of working moms and dads by tackling many of the problems our child care system faces today.
Most importantly, under Clinton's plan no family would pay more than 10 percent of their income on child care _ dramatically lowering child care expenses for millions of working parents that the Trump plan essentially ignores. Clinton's plan also provides more support for parents who are students, and makes Early Head Start and preschool available to many more children.
And unlike Trump, Clinton's plan doesn't neglect the other of us, a child care provider who cares for kids so their moms and dads can go to work, pay the rent, and put food on the table knowing their children are in good hands. The work is gratifying and a blessing, but for millions of us the low wages mean sometimes missing bills or charging our credit cards to pay for supplies.
Clinton gets how hard it is for people like us to get by and she wants to support us as we care for the next generation of Americans. Because women _ particularly black and Latina women _ have traditionally performed child care and other domestic jobs, we have too often been denied basic legal protections and decent pay. Clinton knows that's not only bad for care workers, it's bad for kids: research shows that higher wages are one of the strongest factors in high quality child care.
And that's what we're saddest about: Under Trump's plan, it's our children who suffer the most. The early years of life are the most critical for a person's development and without high-quality, affordable care, we are putting millions of children at a disadvantage they will spend their entire lives fighting to overcome. We need to ensure that every family has guaranteed access to quality, affordable child care; parents can choose the child care setting that works best for their family; and child care teachers have a voice on the job and earn a living wage of at least $15 per hour.
By increasing investment in early-learning programs, fighting to raise the minimum wage for caregivers, capping childcare costs to 10 percent of a family's income, and helping families balance their careers and family responsibilities, Clinton has a plan that will help our children excel and become the leaders of our future.
Together, with Clinton in the White House, we can become the most powerful force for change, and win a better future for all families. As she told SEIU child care providers last year, "When we short-change child care workers, we short-change kids and America's future."
