A Boring Dystopia

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Child care costs more than a mortgage payment or rent almost everywhere in the U.S.: ‘There is no escaping it’ (www.marketwatch.com)

submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It doesn't really seem too sustainable to have to be so expensive if you actually want people to have kids, especially when the US is so famously allergic to the very notion of social safety nets. Median household income in my county is just under $50,000/year, so lets call it $50,000 to make things easy. Median rent for a one bedroom apartment is $1,588/month, so housing alone leaves you with $30,944. Average cost of child care for my city is $16,250/year for kids 2 or younger, so now we're down to $14,694 to cover all other expenses for the rest of the year for our average household, ignoring the fact that we ignored taxes on that $50,000 income to begin with. That's $282.58/week to feed a potential family of 3, clothe them, pay utilities, etc. which isn't a whole lot.

[–] Toine 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Indeed, this is why child care is or should be heavily subsidized.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Yeah, unfortunately, it just isn't a possibility for most people in the US, and even in the areas where programs do exist, they tend to be severely underfunded and means-tested like crazy, so only the poorest of the poor will qualify. I'm not interested in having kids, but for those who do want them, it's just insane the expenses they will have to go through to be able to just keep their jobs and have their kids being watched by someone.