Steve Hecker raises an important point about daycare: the cost of providing a true living wage to daycare workers and getting high quality care for the kids is more than most parents can pay. Here is a suggestion off the top of my head; tell me if there is anything to it.... The problem with the cost of daycare is like the problem with the cost of health care; they are both sporadic--intense at some times, nonexistent at others. Over a life cycle they can be afforded (given a reasonable distribution of income), but it is difficult to come up with all the money at once. For health care everyone recognizes that insurance is needed, not only to pool risks across the population, but to spread payment over the life cycle. Isn't there a need for a corresponding mechanism for smoothing out childcare payments as well? In other words, isn't the case for public support for daycare not simply one of income redistribution, but also one of expense smoothing? The policy remains the same--public financing--but is it a little easier to explain as a life cycle mechanism? Peter Dorman
