PROGRESSIVE PLAYBOOK > CARE ECONOMY

CORE MESSAGE

No matter where you were born or what you look like, we all want to live a decent life with the people we love most. But today, so many of us are struggling just to get by - trying to pay for gas and groceries while working long hours, trying to find affordable high-quality childcare, or taking time away from work to care for a loved one.

For too long, a handful of special interest-backed politicians and greedy corporations have put profits ahead of our families. They hand out tax breaks to the wealthiest few instead of funding what our families need: affordable, quality childcare, paid family and medical leave, tax relief like the child tax credit, care for our elders and our disabled loved ones, and commonsense standards to ensure everyone is treated with dignity at work.

We all deserve the chance to be there for our children when they take their first steps, care for family members living with a disability, and comfort our elders when they’re sick. Together, we can build a country that works for all our families so that everyone—including every care worker—has dignity on the job, a living wage, childcare, paid family and medical leave, paid sick time, and the support they need to thrive.

WATCH IT IN ACTION

NEXT: POLLING + WORDS THAT WORK ↓

POLLING + Fast Facts

DIRECT CARE WORKERS NEED AND DESERVE A FAIR LIVING WAGE

DIRECT CARE WORKERS NEED AND DESERVE A FAIR LIVING WAGE

The median hourly wage for direct care workers only grew $0.19 from 2009 ($12.61/hour) to 2019 ($12.80/hour) [adjusted for inflation] according to PHI.

CHILD POVERTY NEARLY CUT IN HALF BY CHILD TAX CREDIT EXPANSION

Expanding the Child Tax Credit decreased child poverty rates by 36% and lifted 6.7 million people out of poverty in one year, including nearly 4 million children. The CTC worked and we can do it again.

FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE

Paid family leave reduces infant mortality by as much as 20% (the U.S. ranks a disappointing 37th of all countries in infant mortality), and helps boost women’s labor force participation and earnings as well as supporting small businesses. Forty-four percent of workers don’t even qualify for job-protected unpaid leave, and millions more can’t afford to take unpaid leave.

PREGNANT WORKERS DESERVE FAIRNESS ON THE JOB

Pregnant people still face discrimination on the job: Nearly 1 in 4 people have considered leaving their jobs due to a lack of reasonable accommodations or fear of discrimination during a pregnancy. 71% of mothers are involved in the traditional labor force, meaning that pregnancy discrimination - including the denial of reasonable accommodations - is a major threat to family income.

TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF) HELPS MILLIONS, BUT FALLS SHORT

While just over three million people received TANF in 2018, only one in four families below the poverty line are actually receiving assistance from the program and benefits are insufficient to lift a family out of poverty in any state.

EARLY EDUCATION IS CRITICAL FOR KIDS, PARENTS, AND OUR ECONOMY

High quality childcare and pre-K improve long-term life outcomes for kids and help parents and caregivers stay in the workforce, yet millions of families live in areas where child care is unavailable or unaffordable, and child care workers are paid poverty wages. Universal pre-kindergarten would save working families $17 billion a year, and investments in child care would help improve access and reduce costs for families while also supporting care workers.

SNAP IS A CRITICAL LIFELINE TO PREVENT CHILDREN FROM GOING HUNGRY

Before the pandemic, 1 in 7 children in the U.S. went to bed hungry, and that number has risen to a total of 18 million children due to the pandemic. In 2018, SNAP lifted 3.2 million people, including nearly 1.4 million children, out of poverty.

UNDEREMPLOYMENT FORCES PARENTS TO WORK MORE FOR LESS

Over 4 million working people are involuntarily working part-time, representing 3% of all employed people.

WORKING PARENTS NEED PAID SICK LEAVE

Nearly one in three private-sector workers and 70% of low-wage workers cannot earn a single paid sick day. This means more than 34 million people working in the private sector have no access to paid sick days at all, and millions more cannot earn paid sick time to care for a sick child or family member.

Words that Work

Start with personal stories - and then always connect individual stories to the broader systemic solution to paint a picture of exactly how paid family and medical leave, sick leave and the care economy would change that particular story and our shared story.

Care Work Is Essential

Care work makes all other work possible.

Care workers do the essential work of caring for our loved ones.

The people who take care of our children, elders, and disabled family members deserve the same dignity and respect they give to our loved ones.

Caregivers, like all workers, deserve to earn a living wage and have access to paid family and medical leave.

Infrastructure is more than just roads and bridges––it’s building what we need for our communities and our families to thrive.

Families Should Be Able to Be There for Each Other

Parents shouldn’t have to make impossible choices between making rent for the month and watching their kids take their first steps.

Families of all kinds shouldn’t have to risk their financial stability to be there for each other: proven programs like paid family and medical leave, paid sick time and home care make it possible.

People need paid time to recover from illness or welcoming a new child

Working parents should have a fair say in their work schedules so they can care for their children and provide for their families.

Our economy works best when it works for families.

We need a law that guarantees all workers can be with their loved ones AND earn a living—no exceptions; no matter where we work; where we live or if we are white, Black, or brown.

When a family member is sick or a loved one needs help, we all want to be there for them. But today, too many families have to endure lost wages or even lost jobs because we don't have a national paid family and medical leave program.

We need to make sure every family has what they need to thrive like affordable high-quality childcare and home and community based services for elders and disabled loved ones.

Funding childcare for all means parents can work and contribute to our communities and that every kid has a safe place to learn, grow, and thrive.

NEXT: TOOLS + RESOURCES ↓

Tools + Resources

For more information, we have included the following additional resources below. These resources do not necessarily reflect the policy positions of the Progressive Caucus Action Fund.