Bernie Sanders Rolls Out $1.5 Trillion Plan For Free, Universal Child Care

[Donkees]

It’s the latest early childhood plan from a 2020 Democratic candidate — and it could be the biggest.

By Jonathan Cohn

Excerpt:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Monday rolled out a plan under which the federal government would make child care and pre-kindergarten available to all American families, with no tuition or fees.

The Sanders plan, (https://berniesanders.com/issues/free-child-care-and-pre-k-all/) which campaign officials provided to reporters over the weekend, is the latest major proposal on early childhood to come from a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. And with a projected budget of $1.5 trillion over 10 years, the Sanders plan may also be the biggest.

A major theme of the Sanders proposal is to treat child care as an extension of public education.

That means, among other things, focusing on raising qualifications and pay for the adults who care for children. Following a phase-in period, child care providers would have to meet the same training standards they do for the federal Head Start program, in which, for example, all lead preschool teachers must have a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or some related field.

In return, the program envisions paying child care providers more like public school teachers by requiring that they make a living wage. Although the plan does not specify what that means, it’s bound to be a lot higher than existing wages, which are about $12 an hour or roughly the median wage for retail cashiers. Those low wages make it difficult to attract or retain the most talented workers.

The other way the Sanders plan treats child care like public education is by making it free at the point of service. It would be open to all families, regardless of income, at no direct cost to them.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sanders-free-universal-child-care-plan_n_5e52f4aac5b629695f5c3e0f

[Magoo48]

1. Go Bernie.

[whistler162]

2. H O W D O W E P A Y F O R I T ?

[myohmy2]

5. transformation?

...billionaires into millionaires?

...

[MrsCoffee]

9. That silly answer is pretty much why people write your guy off.

He has no idea how he will pay for anything.

[Deero]

20. this

What's the plan when there are no more billionaires? Who pays for it then?

[uponit7771]

23. The poster wasn't being silly, they were bead dead serious cause that's what they know

[myohmy2]

34. some...

...keep expecting us to play a hand that hasn't been dealt...wait until we get there...

...are you saying in a 23 trillion dollar economy we haven't got the money?

...c'mon...

[MrsCoffee]

36. Some think promising everything for free is one way to buy an election.

[AncientGeezer]

45. We are $23T+ in debt.....you can't make that go away by adding to it.

Our GDP...."economy" was $21.4T last yr..the U.S. Economy....not the Government budget...tax revenues....expenditures.

Are you suggesting that because $21+trillion economy per yr.....that that allows trillions in added spending?

We do NOT have the money.....that's a mathematical fact.
If you took ever penny from every billionaire in the U.S. tomorrow, every dime, leave them penniless....you couldn't fund what we spend per yr... for ONE yr.......even if you zero'd out the Defense budget....no military spending that yr.......you can't fund the Government.

[Happy Hoosier]

16. How many trillions do all his plans cost now? NT

Let’s see....

Medicare for all
Free college tuition
Complete student debt relief
Universal Child Care

All free today!

[uponit7771]

22. This poster is dead serious about this answer ... just ... wow

[AncientGeezer]

44. How? Legally, that will stand up in SCOTUS...How?

[bucolic_frolic]

6. Everything is FREEEEEEEEEE!

Bubble gum politics, with ice cream on top!

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

26. Free pony for everyone

You get a pony. You get a pony. Even you get a pony.

[katmondoo]

15. Bernie is going cazy with the give-a-ways that cannot pass in congress

[SDANation]

18. Yup! But it plays well with millennials and the base

He knows non of that is gonna get passed.but it gets him votes

[uponit7771]

21. HATER !!! / snarc

[Recursion]

25. The money's not the problem; the people are

The country's not exactly swimming with unemployed people who can pass background checks.

[BeyondGeography]

3. And here's what he would have to settle for legislatively

But while the Warren and Sanders plans have a lot in common, including the emphasis on quality, hers would guarantee free child care only for families with incomes of up to twice the poverty line, which works out to about $52,000 a year for a family of four.

For families making more than that, child care would require fees, albeit on a sliding scale pegged to income and with a guarantee that no family would have to pay more than 7% of its income on child care.

This is the same basic approach in the Buttigieg plan and on Capitol Hill, in legislation introduced by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.).

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Amazing

Putin's backing two horses with extreme policies. Catch a pattern there? He doesn't want the strong, American, political middle to hold.

[myohmy2]

8. or...

...he likes a winner...

...the 'strong American middle' is only 20% thick...

...and getting thinner by the minute...

[MrsCoffee]

10. He put Trump in office, so yeah, you go with that one.

Maybe he likes a winner....

It’s almost like you are cheering Putin on.

The similarities of the two campaigns and their supporters..... mind boggling.

[myohmy2]

38. Bernie's...

...been more than forceful rejecting while trump embraces...

...but then again, 'when in Rome......'

...a man's got to do what a man's got to do...

[MrsCoffee]

40. He has been deceitful. He hid the fact they were helping and claimed they were hurting his campaign,

He blamed Bernie Bro behavior on Russian bots trying to harm his campaign AFTER he had been informed the Russians were helping him. Hiding it only advances the Russians efforts and benefits Bernie.

[LanternWaste]

46. His consistent staffing issues seem counter to your sentiment.

But a supporter's gotta allege what a supporter's gotta allege-- I saw more than enough of that growing up in a southern baptist church...

[HarlanPepper]

43. Secretly

His help is probably welcomed by some. What they don’t realize is just how fucking quick that switch will be flipped if Bernie is the nominee.

[Gothmog]

7. Bit sanders will not say how he will pay for this program

Link to tweet

[MrsCoffee]

11. Everything is free, vote for me!

I guess that’s one way to buy an election.

[TCJ70]

12. That's a good goal...

...childcare and pre-k is ridiculously expensive depending on where you live.

[TheCowsCameHome]

14. Yay! Free everything.

Free college, free this, free that. Someone has to pay for it eventually.

The concept is nice, but this pie-on-the-sky free nonsense will sink him in the GE.

[whathehell]

39. Free Tax cuts for Corporations & Billionaires, Free Everything!

Socialism for the Rich -- 'Rugged Individualism' for everyone else.

As it happens, the agenda you call "pie in the sky" polls quite well with most Americans...The vast majority of those not on board are Billionaires, Billionaire-suck ups, and Those Too Clueless to Understand

[Watchfoxheadexplodes]

17. Something else he can say "no one knows"

When asked how it gets paid for?

[C_U_L8R]

19. I just can't take this guy seriously.

Yelling and arm waving do not make these wishes become real. Most of all, neither the candidate nor his team are listening to any of us who have real concerns that they'll tank the economy. They can't or won't offer simple realistic plans how they'll pull any of this off. If they won't invest in us in the center, I have no time for them.

[Hoyt]

24. Sanders AND Warren are pretty much promising the same things with same funding sources.

Ain't gonna happen, even if they managed to get elected.

[BeyondGeography]

27. Details on how they differ are above in you're interested in more than your standard Warren smear

[Hoyt]

30. Above, where? Most interested in how Warren's tax plans differ from Sanders' for all promises.

We are not just talking child care plans (at least, I'm not), which aren't that different.

[BeyondGeography]

31. I understand your default Warren position but this is a thread about child care

The details are in the article which you obviously didn’t read. I also posted the excerpt above.

She caps free care at $52k HHI for a family of four. Same as the Scott/Murray Child Care for Working Families Act that has been introduced in Congress.

[Hoyt]

35. Just think it's odd seeing all the Warren supporters bashing Sanders for spending that isn't viable.

[BeyondGeography]

37. So I point out how they differ significantly differ on this issue and whoosh

Typical.

[whathehell]

28. Go Bernie!

[beachbumbob]

29. a trillion here, a trillion there, soon adds up to be lots of trillions

and why many see more free giveways to be a bad thing. The proposal should be how to revamp and control cost for child care for those that NEED the help in the first place.

[empedocles]

32. Just another ton of primary bait for the gullible

[democratisphere]

33. Free EVERYTHING if you vote for me! said the BSer.

Trillion dollar deficit in one year and $22+ trillion and climbing national debt. BS will have to sell 2 of his 3 houses to help pay for it.

[dalton99a]

41. GOP ad: "Democrats Will Raise Your Taxes To Pay For Bernie's Socialist Revolution"

Easy low-hanging fruit

[msongs]

42. nothing is free except in Bernie land nt

[peggysue2]

47. Ahhh, what's the fuss?

Another $1.5 trillion. Just nickels and dimes. How do I know this? Bernie said so.

[Gothmog]

48. Statement from Biden campaign

Link to tweet