The Stay-At-Home Parent is Not a Luxury Item

With advocacy from Vice President JD Vance, it appears that Trump administration officials are working on a rule to allow families with a stay-at-home parent to access current federal childcare funds. At this stage, it is still in the drafting stage. The proposal would rework the Child Care and Development Fund, a roughly $12 billion Health and Human Services program dating to the Clinton era that helps low- and moderate-income parents pay for care so they can work, attend school, or complete job training. Under the draft rule, a married couple could still collect aid — worth about $9,000 per child annually — if one spouse stays home to raise the child while the other works at least 35 hours a week. No such federal benefit currently exists. The change would not require congressional approval, though it still needs sign-off from the White House and a public comment period before taking effect, potentially as early as next year, the Times reported. If this proposal to help put families where mom (or dad) takes care of their own kids on equal footing with two-earner households receiving money for childcare sounds familiar, it is something JD Vance has put forward many times. This is where a conundrum exists for many conservatives — we don't want more programs that increase citizen dependence on Big Government. At the same time, we cannot ignore that this particular Clinton-era federal fund cannot be undone without Congressional action. Additionally, that fund discriminates against families who want childcare provided in the home by a parent. The current model only helps low-to-middle income families who put their kids in commercial daycare. Why should strangers providing care be prioritized over a parent? This where conservatives often get skewered by Alinsky Rule #4 'Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules'. The Left has for, too long, pretended things like public roads and public schools are 'socialism' and therefore, conservatives are 'hypocrites' for even commenting on them. There is absolutely no 'rule' that people who criticize how taxpayer money is spent have no right to access it. No where is this kind of HOW DARE YOU stance of anti-natalist, anti-family response to the Trump/Vance proposal than the leftwing NWLC – National Women's Law Center. Washington, DC – The New York Times reported that the Trump-Vance administration plans to overhaul the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) by redirecting federal child care dollars away from families who need child care in order to work or go to school to married couples with a stay-at-home parent. This reported draft policy is the latest in the Trump administration's attempts to implement a pronatalist, patriarchal agenda that seeks to push women out of public life and punish single mothers in the name of prioritizing 'traditional families.' 'This is the administration's latest effort to force an outdated vision of the family on all Americans, including by making it harder for women to stay in the workforce,' said Amy Matsui, vice president for child care and income security at the National Women's Law Center (NWLC). Hey, sisters! Did you know if you want to stay home with your newborn, you're not only succumbing to The Patriarchy™ [rheee!] but participating in an outdated vision of family [RHEEEEE!!!] What predictable, insulting claptrap from a organization that can't even define the 'W' in their name. No one loves their child and is more invested in their well-being than a parent. So, the parent should, at least, be on equal footing with a stranger providing childcare in a commercial setting. Only those invested in making married families with a stay-at-home parent a permanently outdated vision would disagree. featured image, cropped, Adobe Stock standard license