Reading a little item in our local alt-weekly, which details how day care subsidies have taken yet another hit in our county, I’m reminded of the many glowing NPR stories that I heard back in the 90’s about welfare reform. The idea, championed by some Republican governors as well as Democrats, was to subsidize daycare for uneducated single moms, who could then afford to work a job or go back to school.
Maybe that was just a dream or a flashback from an ill-timed experiment with Ecstasy. No matter, the Republicans aren’t pretending anymore, and even if the Democrats would like to do it, they aren’t trying very hard.
I always thought that subsidized day care was one of the few “bi-partisan” areas of agreement that made sense. Republicans could like it because it gets the lazy poors to work. Democrats could like it because they’re giving some tough love. It’s a win/win. Unfortunately, the last time anyone thought like that, Jodi Foster was playing Clarice Starling and Kurt Cobain was recording In Utero.