“The ability to identify such bad policies, and the willingness to remake them, will define the next chapter in America’s economic story. The coming election year, arriving in the wake of an epic cataclysm, should be an ideal opportunity. Unfortunately, there’s little prospect of a substantial debate about such crucial issues as housing affordability or how to bolster retirement savings.”

An economist named Kathryn Anne Edwards recently addressed a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs subcommittee in a now-viral video about the devastating impact of nationwide childcare center closings, saying, “In surveys, paid childcare providers say that when Rescue Act funds end, they will either cut staff wages, raise prices, close classrooms, or close altogether. It would be unheard of for any combination of those actions not to push parents, largely mothers, out of the workforce.”

“If most or all of the affected parents suddenly stop working, the labor force participation rate could quickly fall by a percentage point or more, an ominous development in a market where employers are already struggling to find workers. More likely, the effect will be subtle. The parents who lose care will be dispersed throughout the economy, across myriad industries, occupations, locations and employers. In the longer run, families will internalize the cost of child care the way they have for years: by having fewer children and working less.”