Universal Childcare?

[canadiancare]

I am a Canadian (hence the name) but I have worked on committees trying to get universal care here in some form for years. They have it the next province over and how it runs is that there are a set amount of spots at 7$ a day. The government subsidises the remainder. If you choose and are so fortunate as to get one of those spots then, there it is. If you go another route and pay privately that is your choice, too. You will get a receipt for your amount and carry on as usual.

I am a bleeding heart lefty, though so I support all this free education, free medical etc. I don't mind paying taxes that go to helping others and would rather see that than see the money going to buying weapons.

[Country Kids]

Just saw a thing on minimum wage last night.

$9.00 an hour=$18,000 for the year (full time working)

$25,000 is poverty level.

So even working full-time you are living $7,000 below poverty level.

I so remember when my mom an RN made $7.50 an hour and that seemed like sooooooo much money.

When you could work for a summer and pay for one year at a University!

Its becoming such a rat race and one that ties me quickly. I'm ready to get rid of everything and live up in the woods by a little creek and get back to enjoying life-not just surviving.

[Binkybobo]

Here's my take on it. I think the programs shoud be offered for a short period of time or under certain circumstances. A few years ago my husband was laid off from a very high paying job. At the time I was not working because I didn't have to. We were left with no income. We went to a local christian charity for food, and they offered financial counseling. At our first meeting we discussed what our financial problems were, and made a plan. The plan included ways we could improve our finances, and where we were going to be financially in 3months when the charity would no longer be assisting us. My husband's goals were obviously to find another high paying job, and my goals were to find a well paying part time job and reasonable childcare accomidations. They checked in with us each month to see what we were doing to obtain those goals, and where we were on our journey. At the end of the 3 months they stopped helping us with our bills and food and we were financially independent again. In a Nutshell. We have provided for ourselves very well ever since. It only took 3 months of help. I will forever have a respect for christian charities and would gladly volunteer my time to pay it foward. Everytime I go to the grocery store I buy a bag of charity groceries because I am able to give back. If we are going to have government programs such as foodstamps etc. they should be set up similarly to this charity. What have you done this month to become more financialy independent? What have you done to make sure that you and your children won't starve at the end of these 3 months?
I've never had foodstamps, only this 3 month period of assistance. I am proud of you all for working as hard as you have. I also understand that there are times when people accept help with the intent of working their butts off and paying it foward to someone else.

[Blackcat31]

. I'm ready to get rid of everything and live up in the woods by a little creek and get back to enjoying life-not just surviving.

Hey, that is where I live! ::

Here is my creek:

[Willow]

I am a Canadian (hence the name) but I have worked on committees trying to get universal care here in some form for years. They have it the next province over and how it runs is that there are a set amount of spots at 7$ a day. The government subsidises the remainder. If you choose and are so fortunate as to get one of those spots then, there it is. If you go another route and pay privately that is your choice, too. You will get a receipt for your amount and carry on as usual.

I am a bleeding heart lefty, though so I support all this free education, free medical etc. I don't mind paying taxes that go to helping others and would rather see that than see the money going to buying weapons.

There is a huge difference between paying reasonable taxes that go to help others in true need and getting bent over forced to give my hard earned money to people who don't want to work but have bigger tv's, manicured nails and nicer vehicles than I do.

THAT is the state of this country's "assistance" at this point.


Obama hates the military and has slashed the defense budget multiple times. Tax payer money isn't going to "buying weapons," rest assured. He'll ship it off to other countries so women elsewhere can have access to free abortions, but when it comes to defending our country forget about it.

His threats of annihilating the second amendment however do have MY money going to buying up weapons however. I'm quite sure overall that's about the only boost he's given to the economy (in this country anyway) since he was elected into office ::


Back to the topic, there's a reason why there's always been a cut off for kindy.....it's because it's always been said children weren't developmentally ready for any sort of organized school setting before then.

Apparently children have all evolved at an epic rate of speed and that's no longer a consideration!

[Binkybobo]

Before I duck out of this thread, because I really have nothing nice to say, if you ever are at poverty level I hope you have no intentions of using food stamps, Medicaid, daycare assistance vouchers, TANF, school lunch assistance or WIC. And I certainly hope you aren't on the food program, don't drive on city streets and don't use public transportation!

I know it may seem like you have been attacked for being on these programs, but I think peope were more reacting to how it was written. It seemed like you were suggesting that many of us had never been in the situation and could never really unerstand. I think it offended a few people who had worked very hard to get back on their feet and make good lives for themselves. Not to say that you are not hardworking..I'll just insert some emoticons like someone suggested last week that should help

[Country Kids]

Hey, that is where I live! ::

Here is my creek:

Thanks for the photo!

My dream (forever) is a little cabin in the woods with a natural creek by it and up from that a waterfall.

I can soooooo picture it, just not make it a reality!

[Willow]

Here's my take on it. I think the programs shoud be offered for a short period of time or under certain circumstances. A few years ago my husband was laid off from a very high paying job. At the time I was not working because I didn't have to. We were left with no income. We went to a local christian charity for food, and they offered financial counseling. At our first meeting we discussed what our financial problems were, and made a plan. The plan included ways we could improve our finances, and where we were going to be financially in 3months when the charity would no longer be assisting us. My husband's goals were obviously to find another high paying job, and my goals were to find a well paying part time job and reasonable childcare accomidations. They checked in with us each month to see what we were doing to obtain those goals, and where we were on our journey. At the end of the 3 months they stopped helping us with our bills and food and we were financially independent again. In a Nutshell. We have provided for ourselves very well ever since. It only took 3 months of help. I will forever have a respect for christian charities and would gladly volunteer my time to pay it foward. Everytime I go to the grocery store I buy a bag of charity groceries because I am able to give back. If we are going to have government programs such as foodstamps etc. they should be set up similarly to this charity. What have you done this month to become more financialy independent? What have you done to make sure that you and your children won't starve at the end of these 3 months?
I've never had foodstamps, only this 3 month period of assistance. I am proud of you all for working as hard as you have. I also understand that there are times when people accept help with the intent of working their butts off and paying it foward to someone else.

I got financial counseling from Lutheran Social Services, and I'm not even Lutheran! Made me smart about my money, instead of just dependent on others.

You teach a man to fish as opposed to just giving him one and the results will be night and day!

Maybe would be a good idea if there isn't just a cap but some mandatory budget counseling that would go along with any government obtained assistance?

[Blackcat31]

I got financial counseling from Lutheran Social Services, and I'm not even Lutheran! Made me smart about my money, instead of just dependent on others.

You teach a man to fish as opposed to just giving him one and the results will be night and day!

Maybe would be a good idea if there isn't just a cap but some mandatory budget counseling that would go along with any government obtained assistance?

I like that idea.

I watched a PBS documentary a while ago about the dust bowl. It talked about what the families who lived there went through during the drought.

One woman narrator made a comment about government assistance and said something along the lines of "The government couldn't just toss out assistance and expect these hard working people to willingly accept it. Accepting help without having to do anything in return robs a man of his self-respect and taking away what little they had left was often a death sentence"

They said not one family showed up for the free help.

If I remember the story correctly, the government then stepped in and offered the assistance to those who were willing to work for it in exchange for the help. ALL the families living in that area who were struggling now showed up and accepted the help.

These people valued their self-worth so much more because they felt as though they weren't taking something for nothing and had earned what help they were given.

For some reason that story has stuck with me and I often think of it when discussions of welfare and government aid comes up.

[MyAngels]

Here's my take on it. I think the programs shoud be offered for a short period of time or under certain circumstances. A few years ago my husband was laid off from a very high paying job. At the time I was not working because I didn't have to. We were left with no income. We went to a local christian charity for food, and they offered financial counseling. At our first meeting we discussed what our financial problems were, and made a plan. The plan included ways we could improve our finances, and where we were going to be financially in 3months when the charity would no longer be assisting us. My husband's goals were obviously to find another high paying job, and my goals were to find a well paying part time job and reasonable childcare accomidations. They checked in with us each month to see what we were doing to obtain those goals, and where we were on our journey. At the end of the 3 months they stopped helping us with our bills and food and we were financially independent again. In a Nutshell. We have provided for ourselves very well ever since. It only took 3 months of help. I will forever have a respect for christian charities and would gladly volunteer my time to pay it foward. Everytime I go to the grocery store I buy a bag of charity groceries because I am able to give back. If we are going to have government programs such as foodstamps etc. they should be set up similarly to this charity. What have you done this month to become more financialy independent? What have you done to make sure that you and your children won't starve at the end of these 3 months?
I've never had foodstamps, only this 3 month period of assistance. I am proud of you all for working as hard as you have. I also understand that there are times when people accept help with the intent of working their butts off and paying it foward to someone else.

This sounds like a great way to do it. Maybe we should turn all of the entitlement programs over to these organizations to run.

[Willow]

I like that idea.

I watched a PBS documentary a while ago about the dust bowl. It talked about what the families who lived there went through during the drought.

One woman narrator made a comment about government assistance and said something along the lines of "The government couldn't just toss out assistance and expect these hard working people to willingly accept it. Accepting help without having to do anything in return robs a man of his self-respect and taking away what little they had left was often a death sentence"

They said not one family showed up for the free help.

If I remember the story correctly, the government then stepped in and offered the assistance to those who were willing to work for it in exchange for the help. ALL the families living in that area who were struggling now showed up and accepted the help.

These people valued their self-worth so much more because they felt as though they weren't taking something for nothing and had earned what help they were given.

For some reason that story has stuck with me and I often think of it when discussions of welfare and government aid comes up.

I totally watched that!!!!

It's amazing how much times have changed....some for the good, some for the not so good.

[kathiemarie]

I would call Head Start a success in our area. But funding was cut last year and many children did not recieve services. Why would you call it a failure?

I read a article about it not to long ago. I will try and find it.

[Lyss]

Hey, that is where I live! ::

Here is my creek:

Can I come to your house? ::

Thanks for the photo!

My dream (forever) is a little cabin in the woods with a natural creek by it and up from that a waterfall.

I can soooooo picture it, just not make it a reality!

Me too!! I hate where we live now but someday I hope to get my little cabin far away from everyone!

There is a huge difference between paying reasonable taxes that go to help others in true need and getting bent over forced to give my hard earned money to people who don't want to work but have bigger tv's, manicured nails and nicer vehicles than I do.

THAT is the state of this country's "assistance" at this point.

Back to the topic, there's a reason why there's always been a cut off for kindy.....it's because it's always been said children weren't developmentally ready for any sort of organized school setting before then.

Apparently children have all evolved at an epic rate of speed and that's no longer a consideration!

I agree.

We've been on state assistance briefly, we used WIC for formula when my DD was born because we were completely unprepared for that expense as we thought I'd be breastfeeding but due to heart problems and medication I was unable. We choose not to continue when DD was 6 months, even through we still qualified but we had paid off the medical bills and could afford to buy it ourselves. Honestly I always left the WIC office feeling so angry and annoyed after seeing all the people that obviously didn't need to be using that program sitting in the office complaining that they needed their vouchers now and didn't like the wait time or "wasting their time" taking the required nutrition classes.

I used to work in property management and we stopped accepting properties where the owners took housing assistance as clients because all we had was problems, 3/4 of the people had to pay less than $100 for their portion and were always late, yet the parking lot was full of nice SUVs and everyone had nice electronics in their apartment. Plus they weren't paying for the apartments so they were nearly always trashed. Don't get me wrong some of them were great tenants but honestly very few, in my experience anyway. I actually had one tenant tell me "I had a baby, I'm never gonna have to work again. That's what the state is for" and for her she was right, the state paid nearly all of her rent, then every month she had some company (churches & other aid organizations) paying her utilities and her $50 portion (of her $790 rent), and she got paid 150 a week from TANF. Now she'll get free daycare and preschool apparently.

The abuse of programs and the blind eye is what really bothers me! There needs to be accountability on both parts.

One woman narrator made a comment about government assistance and said something along the lines of "The government couldn't just toss out assistance and expect these hard working people to willingly accept it. Accepting help without having to do anything in return robs a man of his self-respect and taking away what little they had left was often a death sentence"

They said not one family showed up for the free help.

If I remember the story correctly, the government then stepped in and offered the assistance to those who were willing to work for it in exchange for the help. ALL the families living in that area who were struggling now showed up and accepted the help.

These people valued their self-worth so much more because they felt as though they weren't taking something for nothing and had earned what help they were given.

For some reason that story has stuck with me and I often think of it when discussions of welfare and government aid comes up.

Our system is so messed up but to me the real issue is that no one wants to work anymore. Our society is so self righteous and everyone expects something for nothing. More and more people expect management level jobs and paychecks but are not willing to start at the bottom. They think they deserve a high paying job or these programs and assistance. Its owed to them.

[Heidi]

okay...this digressed into a discussion about welfare. I'd like to steer it back to the original topic because I thought I felt passionately as many of you do. I DO fear that things are being "pushed down" earlier and earlier.

However, the fact that it would "take away business" from us, admittedly, does affect my feelings.

Many of us are interested in Reggio Emelia. It is world-known as an EXCELLENT program. It is also a "state run" early childhood program.

Here is an article I found about education in the world, and how the US fares:

http://www.oecd.org/education/CN%20-%20United%20States.pdf

I have very mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, many other countries have "kindergarten " (the original Kindergarten is preschool, not kindergarten in the 5 year old sense). On the other hand, our schools already do such a crappy job, for the most part, that I don't trust them with the job.

IF something like this was done, then it should be part of a complete overhaul of our education system. More educated, higher paid teachers who are the cream-of-the-crop (like Finland's system, where only 20% of those who apply to teachers schools even get in, and it's a master's program). Creative, talented people who WANT to teach...not just have 9 month out of the year jobs. We have some of those creative, talented people now, but unfortunately, they are rarely respected by their peers or their school boards. Our 4K teacher here worked for her Masters, and then almost got herself fired because now...she costs too much.

This really isn't about Obama or politics. It's about the US staying a major player in the world. We absolutely need to improve education in this country. We need less drop-outs, more engaged students, and more higher education.

Our grandfathers didn't need 4-K...of course not! They were living in a different world. They did "just fine" because they worked their butts off in that world. As much as I like to get all nostalgic about it, longing for the days when "life was simpler", it's just not. Maybe someday, there'll be some sort of fall-of-society, and people will be hunters and gatherers again. For now, though, we are in an electronic age, and our children need to live in that world.

So...still not sure what that means for Universal Kindergarten...

Here is another article I found about Finland, which is world-known for it's educational excellence:

http://www.newamerica.net/blog/early-ed-watch/2008/how-finland-educates-youngest-children-9029

[My3cents]

You are the type of families that programs should be inplace for. NOT for the people who CHOSE to get iphones, manis/pedis, gym memberships, eat out at NICE resturants etc. If someone has cut expesses to the bare bones and needs help then yes we as a nation need to help. But I for one is SICK of helping people who do not help themselves!

A universal pre-school? Cripes, our public school system can't even get it right with what they do now.

Ever go grocery shopping on the 1st of the month when welfare is handed out. It's like being in the twilight zone and amazing what these people can afford that I can't as a dual working family. Welfare needs an over haul. Hand out the basics for survival and start expecting the rest to come from hard work. It is one thing to help but it is another to let people live like this generation after generation.

Do you know why this will never happen. Big companies want their piece of the pie- Wrong on so many levels-