Not kidding around

To some ears, Washington politicians’ recently adopted mantra that “child care is infrastructure” may sound hokey. But it makes sense, given the 90% of American parents in dual-income households who relied on child care pre-pandemic, and the millions of American women who’ve cut back work hours or given up jobs to care for kids since COVID arrived and lowered women’s workforce participation to its lowest level since 1988.

In New York, child care now costs an average of $15,394 per infant and $27,752 for two kids annually. Yet families run up against a benefits cliff, as explained in a new study: The state subsidizes child care for parents until their income exceeds 200% of the federal poverty level — roughly $43,000 a year for a family of three or $52,400 for a family of four. Above that, zippo.

Mayoral candidates inspired by Mayor de Blasio’s Pre-K success want to ride to the rescue. We appreciate the plans but are wary of the pricetags.

Scott Stringer’s $600 million annual plan would help parents earning up to $100,000 and cap outof-pocket child care expenses for those earning above $100,000 at 12% of salaries, paid for with $2 billion in federal aid and a new payroll tax on NYC’s biggest employers. That tax may be a big ask from businesses hesitant about their future here. Kathryn Garcia’s plan for tots helps families earning up to $70,000 a year, but she should share more detail about what it costs and how she’ll pay for it.

Maya Wiley wants a universal grant program that gives $5,000 a year to 100,000 needy caregivers, paid for partly by trimming new NYPD cadet classes and spending underutilized federal childcare grant funding. Eric Adams would increase the city’s earned income tax credit match, from 5% of the federal amount to 60%, for NYC’s poorest families.

The bigger hurdle is that many candidates are promising heavily subsidized child-care alongside a half-dozen other major new public benefits. Prioritize, please.