Daycare plan allows more women to work
Re: “Do homework on all the costs of daycare plan,” editorial, Nov. 25.
I was disappointed to read Sunday’s poorly reasoned editorial chastising the government for “raising hopes” with its “reckless” $10-a-day daycare pilot project. The editorial claims that program’s cost will “force taxpayers and companies to tighten their belts.” Did the editor forget that parents are taxpayers, too?
I’m a new mother who has decided not to return to work full-time. For my family, it’s an economic sacrifice, but a choice we’re privileged enough to make. Daycare would consume 40 per cent of my net pay, so it didn’t seem worth it. But if we had $10-a-day daycare, I’d be incentivized to return.
With my full salary, we could save more, spend more, donate more and buy a house sooner. My household would contribute almost $12,000 more a year in provincial income tax, not to mention our increased spending power and the value I would generate for my employer. My lifelong earning potential would also be higher, as I wouldn’t be taking time away to raise my children.
Ten-dollar-a-day daycare would put thousands of women like me back in the workforce, generate economic growth and create financial stability for families. In this way, the costs of the program would balance out over time.
Even if $10-a-day doesn’t end up being feasible, this pilot project wouldn’t be “an embarrassment.” It would have given the participating families a two-year reprieve, a winning lottery ticket. Let’s hope the rest of B.C.’s families will be so lucky.
Danielle Leduc McQueen
Victoria
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