Two relatively small things happened this week that strike me as being important, and I am worried that they, and the larger story they tell, might get lost in the midst of this week’s terrible news. So ignore this at will, and I will put down a marker.
At a time when so many businesses are woefully short-staffed, one would think that making childcare more affordable would appeal to Republicans. But we know that’s a pipe dream.
Childcare and parental leave are light years more progressive in other well-off countries. But then again most of those counties have strong central governments that care about improving the lives of their citizens.
My love and life partner died when our children were five and eight years old. Many people insisted that I should pass the kids off to aunts or other relatives and start my life over again. This struck me as cold hearted and crass, so I raised them alone. It is a touch job in the best of circumstances, but is was my choice to have children, and my gender did not give me a free ticket out of the situation. More and more men are seeing parenthood as a shared responsibility, as it should be. For good reason I see the care of our young to be a sacred duty and have never regretted my decision. The government needs to "man up" for this reality in order to insure the future health of our children and our country.
Thing is, there is really no tension between the Bill of Rights contracting the role of government and the expansions of government in the socioeconomic sphere that Professor Richardson describes, because both have the same goal: to ensure the ability of the common citizen to live freely. We are in an ever-evolving process defining what the role of government is is achieving that goal, but the thrust is the same, and the necessity of government to have an active role remains.
You are not free if you have opportunities unavailable to you.
You are not free if you cannot pursue the career you want because of the cost of childcare.
You are not free if you have to spend every useful hour at work just to stay fed, clothed, and housed.
You are not free if you cannot afford treatment for any medical problems you would otherwise have treated, or are continually uncertain as to whether that treatment can continue.
You are not free if you cannot decide when and how to have children, and use every option available to you to make that choice.
You are not free if higher education is unattainable to you. Neither are you free unless your school library has the books you need on the topic you choose. Knowledge is power.
You are not free if you cannot walk outside sure that the air you will breathe because you must breathe will only help you rather than hurt you. Ditto the water you drink, and the food you eat.
You are not free if you live in fear of violence in a public place. Whether from gangs, law enforcement, random shooters, it matters not.
And I assure you, the grand high almighty business sector will not grant you these freedoms, when they profit off of the absence of all of them.
Very positive news. Related to this I would also really like to see some action , hear voices, around the national discussion of abortion and male responsibility for birth control. It seems totally absent.
I am really proud of the members of this caucus - all of whom I am really proud of for the other things they do in Congress. Most of them are young enough to be my sons, and they are the exact same as my nephew (the son I never had) putting their families first and foremost. I talk to my nephew every week, and the majority of the conversation is about how he manages to do what he does to support them (which is hard nowadays), but more important how being the Dad he didn't have is more important. And he's doing a damn good job. There is hope for we men.
Much like healthcare that is independent of your employment allows freedom to be an entrepreneur, affordable childcare and elder care allows people to provide better for their children and parents. We have good role models all around us: countries that have more stable and innovative workforces because their basic needs are met. We can, and must, do better.
The amended constitution states the government could not force people to practice a certain religion. Don't the MAGA right use religion as their excuse to eliminate abortion? So by banning it, isn't that forcing others to practice a religion?
I'm beyond delighted to hear about the formation of the Dads Caucus. I truly hope you are right about it being a turning point in how we view the place of government in supporting parents and families. We have needed men advocating for children and families for so long!
Hoping not to be a broken record, the Marshall Plan was, in fact, a social safety net for decimated Germany. As for childcare, parents have the right to up to 3 years each to be with their children without losing their job. There is also financial help "Parent money" in certain amounts, depending on the situation. That said, there is also child care pre-kindergarten. None of it is perfect, but it is far and away more humane than the offerings of the US. Germany lacks personnel and so is making it easier for people to immigrate. The Kita/Kindergarten at the church I belong to has children from 15 different nations.
Affordable, reliable, and attentive childcare has consistently proven to be cost effective. In the few corporations that provide on site childcare, absenteeism is reduced, employees are loyal and stay with the company reducing such costs of worker turnover as recruitment and retraining, and employees are more productive because they worry less about the well-being of their children. Why US corporations keep finding excuses to NOT provide such a perq is a mystery to me. Maybe having a men's caucus to address caregiving and childcare can finally begin to effect some overdue change.
In 1940 there were some truly Neanderthal Republicans in Congress. FDR sought to highlight this by repeating in his campaign speeches MARTIN, BARTON, AND FISH (to the cadence of Wynkyn, Blinken, & Nod).
The audiences loved it and would repeat with FDR—-MARTIN, BARTON, AND FISH.
President Biden and others, in highlighting the venality and absurdity of the 2023 Republican Animal House, could continually focus on MCCARTHY, GREENE, AND SANTOS and get audiences to chant this with them. (In 1948, Truman had the same impact with his ‘do nothing Congress’ mantra.)
McCarthy has sold his soul to become House speaker and will be hoisted on his own petard with his commitments to 20 renegade Republicans on raising the national debt limit and the forthcoming budget.
Majorie Taylor Greene, who had outstunk Boebert as the most dreadful, gun-toting Republican Congresswoman, has suddenly bonded with McCarthy, had her ban on committee spots lifted, and has been appointed by McCarthy to key House committees.
George Santos is the poster boy of the Republican House for his fraudulency. Late night shows and Saturday Night Live feed on his ongoing torrent of falsities. That McCarthy, spastic over his razor-thin House majority, welcomed Santos to the House and anointed him with two committee spots highlights the rottenness of the Republican House.
Please repeat after me: MCCARTHY, GREENE, AND SANTOS.
Thank you for highlighting this true need for healthy children, stability and assurance for care at both ends of the age spectrum, and support for all configurations of family structure. Realizing that nothing will happen overnight as you said, it is at least encouraging that the desperate situation so many families find themselves in has at last bee noticed.
At a time when so many businesses are woefully short-staffed, one would think that making childcare more affordable would appeal to Republicans. But we know that’s a pipe dream.
Childcare and parental leave are light years more progressive in other well-off countries. But then again most of those counties have strong central governments that care about improving the lives of their citizens.
My love and life partner died when our children were five and eight years old. Many people insisted that I should pass the kids off to aunts or other relatives and start my life over again. This struck me as cold hearted and crass, so I raised them alone. It is a touch job in the best of circumstances, but is was my choice to have children, and my gender did not give me a free ticket out of the situation. More and more men are seeing parenthood as a shared responsibility, as it should be. For good reason I see the care of our young to be a sacred duty and have never regretted my decision. The government needs to "man up" for this reality in order to insure the future health of our children and our country.
Thing is, there is really no tension between the Bill of Rights contracting the role of government and the expansions of government in the socioeconomic sphere that Professor Richardson describes, because both have the same goal: to ensure the ability of the common citizen to live freely. We are in an ever-evolving process defining what the role of government is is achieving that goal, but the thrust is the same, and the necessity of government to have an active role remains.
You are not free if you have opportunities unavailable to you.
You are not free if you cannot pursue the career you want because of the cost of childcare.
You are not free if you have to spend every useful hour at work just to stay fed, clothed, and housed.
You are not free if you cannot afford treatment for any medical problems you would otherwise have treated, or are continually uncertain as to whether that treatment can continue.
You are not free if you cannot decide when and how to have children, and use every option available to you to make that choice.
You are not free if higher education is unattainable to you. Neither are you free unless your school library has the books you need on the topic you choose. Knowledge is power.
You are not free if you cannot walk outside sure that the air you will breathe because you must breathe will only help you rather than hurt you. Ditto the water you drink, and the food you eat.
You are not free if you live in fear of violence in a public place. Whether from gangs, law enforcement, random shooters, it matters not.
And I assure you, the grand high almighty business sector will not grant you these freedoms, when they profit off of the absence of all of them.
Very positive news. Related to this I would also really like to see some action , hear voices, around the national discussion of abortion and male responsibility for birth control. It seems totally absent.
I am really proud of the members of this caucus - all of whom I am really proud of for the other things they do in Congress. Most of them are young enough to be my sons, and they are the exact same as my nephew (the son I never had) putting their families first and foremost. I talk to my nephew every week, and the majority of the conversation is about how he manages to do what he does to support them (which is hard nowadays), but more important how being the Dad he didn't have is more important. And he's doing a damn good job. There is hope for we men.
Much like healthcare that is independent of your employment allows freedom to be an entrepreneur, affordable childcare and elder care allows people to provide better for their children and parents. We have good role models all around us: countries that have more stable and innovative workforces because their basic needs are met. We can, and must, do better.
The amended constitution states the government could not force people to practice a certain religion. Don't the MAGA right use religion as their excuse to eliminate abortion? So by banning it, isn't that forcing others to practice a religion?
I’m ready for someone somewhere to give real attention to those who are caring for their severely disabled adult children.
I am encouraged that these people are in Congress offering counterbalance to the selfish idiocy on the right
I'm beyond delighted to hear about the formation of the Dads Caucus. I truly hope you are right about it being a turning point in how we view the place of government in supporting parents and families. We have needed men advocating for children and families for so long!
Hoping not to be a broken record, the Marshall Plan was, in fact, a social safety net for decimated Germany. As for childcare, parents have the right to up to 3 years each to be with their children without losing their job. There is also financial help "Parent money" in certain amounts, depending on the situation. That said, there is also child care pre-kindergarten. None of it is perfect, but it is far and away more humane than the offerings of the US. Germany lacks personnel and so is making it easier for people to immigrate. The Kita/Kindergarten at the church I belong to has children from 15 different nations.
Affordable, reliable, and attentive childcare has consistently proven to be cost effective. In the few corporations that provide on site childcare, absenteeism is reduced, employees are loyal and stay with the company reducing such costs of worker turnover as recruitment and retraining, and employees are more productive because they worry less about the well-being of their children. Why US corporations keep finding excuses to NOT provide such a perq is a mystery to me. Maybe having a men's caucus to address caregiving and childcare can finally begin to effect some overdue change.
MCCARTHY, GREENE, AND SANTOS
In 1940 there were some truly Neanderthal Republicans in Congress. FDR sought to highlight this by repeating in his campaign speeches MARTIN, BARTON, AND FISH (to the cadence of Wynkyn, Blinken, & Nod).
The audiences loved it and would repeat with FDR—-MARTIN, BARTON, AND FISH.
President Biden and others, in highlighting the venality and absurdity of the 2023 Republican Animal House, could continually focus on MCCARTHY, GREENE, AND SANTOS and get audiences to chant this with them. (In 1948, Truman had the same impact with his ‘do nothing Congress’ mantra.)
McCarthy has sold his soul to become House speaker and will be hoisted on his own petard with his commitments to 20 renegade Republicans on raising the national debt limit and the forthcoming budget.
Majorie Taylor Greene, who had outstunk Boebert as the most dreadful, gun-toting Republican Congresswoman, has suddenly bonded with McCarthy, had her ban on committee spots lifted, and has been appointed by McCarthy to key House committees.
George Santos is the poster boy of the Republican House for his fraudulency. Late night shows and Saturday Night Live feed on his ongoing torrent of falsities. That McCarthy, spastic over his razor-thin House majority, welcomed Santos to the House and anointed him with two committee spots highlights the rottenness of the Republican House.
Please repeat after me: MCCARTHY, GREENE, AND SANTOS.
GO DAD'S!!! ... P. S. You're welcome,
Love,
Moms
xoxox
Thank you for highlighting this true need for healthy children, stability and assurance for care at both ends of the age spectrum, and support for all configurations of family structure. Realizing that nothing will happen overnight as you said, it is at least encouraging that the desperate situation so many families find themselves in has at last bee noticed.
In Joe Biden’s White House, a portrait of FDR hangs behind the Resolute desk. 😎