All that kids can be

By Arthur Perlo

"The best chance a family has to be guaranteed affordable and high quality [child] care in this country is to join the military." That’s Helen Blank of the Children’s Defense Fund, quoted in a new study from the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC),

Until 1989, says the NWLC, "the military child care system ... was plagued by many of the deficiencies that are familiar to civilian parents today – poor quality care, a lack of standards ... high staff turnover due to low salaries and poor working conditions, long waiting lists for available slots, and unaffordable parent fees."

Today, according to the report, "The military runs what is essentially the largest employer- sponsored child care program in the country, serving over 200,000 children per day." It is superior to civilian child care in almost every respect: better standards, better staff training and pay, lower staff turnover, longer hours of operation, caring for younger children, all at a lower cost for parents. Currently, 58 percent of demand is being met, increasing to 80 percent by 2005. Fees are a maximum 10 to 12 percent of parents’ income for each child, ranging from $39 to $52 per week for families under $23,000 per year. On average, military families pay 25 percent less than civilians, for an average of 50 hours/week (military) versus 38 hours (civilian). Caregivers start at $8/hour, increasing to $10/hour after completing training. All staff get health, retirement and sick leave benefits. This compares with civilian sector caregivers, who average $7.40/hour, usually with no benefits. Of course, the military pay is still below the $12/hour to $20/hour needed to support a family.

How and why did the U.S. military become, in 10 years, the most advanced provider of child care in the United States? Secretary of Defense William Cohen was quoted in the May 17 New York Times as saying, "This isn’t a mere nicety; it’s a military necessity." The NWLC study concluded that "access to child care was affecting how military families were able to perform their jobs."

The "job" performed by the U.S. Armed Forces is to be the global enforcer for U.S. imperialism, i.e., to guarantee that U.S. industrial and financial corporations can exploit workers around the world while forcing U.S. workers into a "race to the bottom." But we should not overlook the positive lessons to be learned from the military’s child care experience.

• Lesson #1: Privatization of services is not the answer. The military child-care system includes both public and private components. But the NWLC report makes it clear the heart of the success is the public network, directly run by the government, following uniform standards nationwide.

• Lesson #2: You can’t solve people’s needs without adequate funding. Military child care is heavily subsidized: spending rose from $90 million in 1989 to $352 million this year, with further increases probable. I estimate that roughly $30 billion would bring civilian childcare up to the new military standard.

In a June 6 campaign speech, Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore proposed tax cuts and grants for working families to help make child care more affordable. Under current law, a typical family of four with an income under $25,000 pays little or no income tax and, therefore, is ineligible for the child care tax credit. He proposes to give these families up to $2,400 per year for child care. He would also increase the deduction for middle income families, provide some funds for improved quality and $500 a year for stay-at-home parents.

Gore’s plan would certainly help many families. It’s a better idea to provide tax credits for child care, compared with the Bush plan of more tax cuts for the super-rich. But Gore’s plan leaves child care to the private sector and says nothing about providing living wages and benefits to child care workers.

If adequate child care is vital for the mission of the U.S. military, it is also vital for the interests of the U.S. working class. All families should have access to affordable child care as good as that provided to service people – for a start. We call for free education for all children, from child care thorough university!

Congress found the funds to provide child care for the military. They can find the funds for the rest of us. They can cancel a few bombers and submarines and, if that’s not enough they can tax some of the wild stock market profits.