Opinion: 'Working Families Act' would help NC families pay for child care
Parenting is hard. Working can be stressful. Juggling work and parenting is a double whammy. Here in Buncombe County, we know the struggles that working families face. Your monthly income can only stretch so far. Child care spots are hard to find. And if you can get a spot somewhere, it takes a huge cut out of your paycheck.
A new national report by SelectSoftware Reviews confirmed the worst. It analyzed public school rankings, available maternity leave, the current cost of living, child care costs and maternity leave pay.
North Carolina is one of the five worst states in the nation for working parents. We are nearly at the very bottom of the barrel. The report calculated that families spend a third of their income on child care. If North Carolina wants to continue being “America’s Top State for Business,” we must address this crisis.
We don’t have to stay in 45th place. Our government is here to serve you. With common sense state policies, we can make things easier for working families. If we have a more balanced state legislature, we can actually pass some bipartisan laws that can address our child care crisis. But right now, one political party completely controls the legislature, and that means they can shut down any policy they don’t want to prioritize.
I’m a problem solver by nature. When I was in the classroom, I taught civics, occupational skills and U.S. history. Civics was one of my favorite classes because it opened our eyes to the ways the government can serve our community.
You remember the “I’m Just a Bill” song from Schoolhouse Rock? It’s such a classic. And it truly describes the lawmaking process.
“I'm sitting in committee,
But I know I'll be a law some day
At least I hope and pray that I will."
As your representative, I helped write a law to make things better for working parents. We have a policy solution sitting in a committee at the North Carolina General Assembly. Our solution — HB 569, the "Working Families Act" — would mean your family would pay less for child care, you would get a $15 hourly minimum wage, you would have assistance buying your first home, and you would get better paid family and medical leave.
Groceries are more expensive, rents are hiked, and there are fewer dollars left at the end of the month for your family. It’s harder to take your kids out to a restaurant or on a summer vacation. When we live month to month, it’s harder to save and pass down what we want to our children. I want to help you keep more money in your pocket.
It isn’t often that we have a policy that could make everyone happy, but the "Working Families Act" is truly a win-win-win. When we invest in child care, we help the kids, parents and child care professionals. It also helps all employers because it makes it possible for employees with kids to work.
It’s a common sense bill. If we want to maintain our competitive business advantage, we should pass the "Working Families Act." The legislative leadership can decide to bring it out of the Rules Committee and let there be a vote in front of the entire House of Representatives.
A healthy democracy should have collaboration, communication and compromise. We should have robust conversations about how to best fix our state’s pressing issues. We know we have a problem and I’m proud to have created a solution. We could pass the “Working Families Act” today. It’s ready to go.
But we currently have dysfunction in the N.C. General Assembly. It’s built into our system because one political party has completely consolidated power. With this Republican supermajority, they entirely control what legislation is passed and heard in committees. They have the power to draw their own districts and create a scenario where an evenly split state politically gives one party absolute power.
The Republican legislative leaders made a decision not to prioritize working families.
I stand for family values. It’s possible to make life better for working families in Buncombe County. Just like that bill sitting on the hill, I hope and pray that we can turn the "Working Families Act" into law. I promise you that I’ll keep fighting to pass it as your elected representative. Just like working families, I won’t give up.
More: Opinion: Poverty affects us all; when children don't succeed as adults, society suffers
Representative Lindsey Prather is an educator, community leader, and public servant who represents southwestern Buncombe County in the NC General Assembly.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NC Working Families Act would help with child care costs
