Support Much-Needed Childcare Programs

I know what it means to tighten the ol’ budget when funds get low. If my family were fighting a war with no achievable end (which of course, we wouldn’t have gotten into in the first place), I would say, hey, maybe it’s time to call it quits, Jackson fam. But one of the last things I’d cut back on is childcare. It’s too important.

I feel the same way about the president’s budget for our country in the next fiscal year. According to the grassroots advocacy group MomsRising:

The proposed freezes and cuts to funding for kids’ programs would mean that 200,000 children and families will lose their childcare. 14,000 children will lose access to Head Start, a crucial early education program.

Marian Wright Edelman also points out in this Huffington Post column:

President Bush’s plan would cut the budget for Medicaid, the frontline program that makes health care accessible to the nation’s poorest children. … In addition to tens of billions of dollars in cuts to vital programs, the president’s budget also calls for increased restrictions on state efforts to cover uninsured children.

She goes on to mention an alarming number of other anti-children proposed cuts.

Meanwhile, the war machine gets $675 billion (an 11 percent increase)–at least, if Bush gets his way. Nice. Reminds me of the old bumper sticker adage, “It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the air force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.”

Well, enough of my pro-kid ranting. Take action, WMAGs! It’s easy. Just tell your congressperson that America’s kids deserve better (even the poor ones) and they need to support funding for childcare, early child education, and children’s health care. And of course, vote for a Democrat in November.