Opinion: Universal child care in NY could save the Democratic Party

In the next few weeks, New York Democrats have the opportunity to make a single move that could set the party up for a nationwide comeback. 

With the federal government under Republican control, Democrats in Congress can’t do much beyond mounting a strong resistance to President Donald Trump. That resistance is essential, but being anti-Trump wasn’t – and won’t be – enough to change the political tide. That’s where New York comes in.Here in New York, Democrats are in full control of the state government. Across America, people associate our state with Democratic ideology (despite a long history of Republican control); if the party wants to change public perception nationwide, it’s time to implement bold policy in New York that effectively makes the case for electing Democrats. 

Fortunately, there’s already legislation on the table in New York that’s spectacularly well-suited to that goal: the Universal Child Care Act. This bill would rapidly invest in the child care workforce and build up a system where child care is free and available for every family. 

At a moment when much of the public feels Democrats aren’t meeting working-class needs, resolving the child care crisis that is currently crushing families across America could dramatically reshape public perception. If the Universal Child Care Act gets funded in our new state budget, Democrats would be responsible for turning New York from one of the hardest places in the developed world to secure child care into one of the easiest. Voters in New York would be deeply aware of the Democratic policy that made their lives so much more manageable, and the rest of America would take note. 

And it gets better; on top of the very visible way Universal Child Care would directly improve the lives of New Yorkers, it’s also one of the most cost-effective ways we can bolster our overall economy – another major electoral vulnerability for the party. Research from Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman found that each $1 invested in quality early childhood programs generates an extraordinary return of $4 to $16 in economic benefits.  

Compare this to the impacts of so-called “economic development” programs that New York Democrats have passed in recent years, which give tax breaks to corporations to incentivize business. An independent analysis done for the governor’s office found that of 25 programs studied, 21 provided no net positive return to the state at all. These giveaways to private companies might help politicians secure corporate campaign donations, but they are a drain on our economy. Implementing the Universal Child Care Act instead would be an economic game-changer.

On the flip side, a decision not to fund the Universal Child Care Act in this year’s state budget would decisively reinforce a narrative that seems to have helped put Trump back in office: that when Democrats say they care about working-class issues, it’s all talk. Just three months ago in her State of the State address, Gov. Kathy Hochul told the public that she supports universal child care. Shortly after, however, she released an initial budget proposal that conspicuously did not include the funding to make that possible. If the necessary funding to build up universal child care remains absent from the final state budget, it will confirm a very damning message about the relationship between the party’s words and actions.

Sure, the governor could try to convince people that we just couldn’t afford it. Maybe some folks will keep believing that. The rest will know that New York could easily pay for it by reversing even a fraction of the tax breaks previously given to the ultra-rich and the companies they own (like Trump’s 2017 corporate tax cuts, which could be countered at the state level). 

In a recent Daily Show interview, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he thinks that what Democratic leadership needs to do “is make the American people feel that we understand the pain that they’ve been in economically.” I disagree. If Democrats continue to focus on “messaging” that they care about working-class struggle – while embracing right-wing policies that funnel money to corporations and the ultra-rich – most elections will continue to be about who can lie better. This approach is not only unethical, it’s also strategically foolish when you’re up against Republicans.

So instead, let’s actually do the thing. Let’s pass the Universal Child Care Act in New York. Let’s show America that when and where the Democratic Party is in power, they’ll use that power to transform the lives of working-class families and build an economy that works for all of us. It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s also the party’s best shot at a comeback.