The traditional economic wisdom that raising the minimum wage will also increase unemployment has not proven true in recent years. The largest number of workers who will be helped are single mothers who are heads of families. The ripple effect up the economic ladder will help millions more workers to get out of poverty. This would allow tens of millions of workers to live the American dream instead of the American nightmare of poverty or near-poverty wages. By insisting that single mothers work, without supporting a system of safe, nurturing childcare, our government is jeopardizing the well being of millions of our children.
Many European countries have an excellent childcare system.
There has to be a better way than our non-system. One important piece of the total picture is to support and increase the thousands of excellent after-school programs across our country. Another is to upgrade the training and pay of childcare workers to whom we entrust our most precious gifts, our children. The basis is already there in the child nutrition programs and in Food Stamps. The Food Stamps program needs to be seen by the public and by officials also as a wage supplement program that is an entitlement to help working poor families and near-working poor families provide proper nutrition as they move from welfare to work and as they move up the economic ladder.