Remember Latchkey kids? No? Well, back in the late 1970s and 1980s, they were a pretty big deal.
Kids as young as six years old were going home to empty houses because both parents were working and didn’t have the money for child care. They were called latchkey kids because they were sent home with door keys instead of supervision. Studies showed they experienced depression and loneliness when they were younger and were more likely to get into trouble as they got older.
Fortunately, society took notice. In states across they country, families were offered after-school funding and subsidies to families who couldn’t afford them. Now, the North Carolina General Assembly wants to strip those subsidies away.
The Republicans leading this state seem to have little sense of history and little sense of empathy. They introduced voter suppression laws that would disproportionately affect poor and elderly people and then were shocked that African-Americans, who were denied the right to vote until 50 years ago, were feeling targeted. Now, they are going to be angry that people will be lazy enough to quit their jobs in order to care for their kids or they’ll blame lack of parenting for kids who get in trouble once they are kicked out of after-school.
Republicans are going to repeat history. They’ve decided that the priority is cutting taxes for the wealthy and corporations. Some amorphous big government is the problem and if they just cut it, we’ll be back on the right track.
Instead, it’s like back to the future. Let’s recreate the problems that we’ve already addressed. That’ll save money.
But it’s not saving money. We’re going to pay the price. We’ll either pay it in lost productivity and welfare for parents who have to leave the workforce to care for their kids. Or we’ll pay for it in increased crime, property damage and juvenile services to control the kids running unsupervised through our streets. Tough choices for everybody but the rich.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
Just another example of NCGOP short-sightedness when it comes to helping the disadvantaged or boosting employment. They may help the truly poverty-stricken with after-school care (and brag about their compassion for the poor), but those households just above the poverty line, that may need two income earners to make ends meet, will have to scrape their wallets deeper — or give up a job.