It is not my intention to beleaguer this topic. However, we have already read (and discussed some) about maternity leave, paternity leave and parental leave in general. I have also posted some information (and opinion) on child care, the history of it and the current trend of it often being very unaffordable.
I found this little clip on youtube that discusses all of these issues and how they are approached in Sweden (there's lots of info that comes from Sweden) It's only a few minutes long if you want to watch it click here and then I would be interested to hear your thoughts and opinions.
To me the idea of affordable child care for everyone is highly appealing. Sweden goes so far as to guarantee a spot for each child in a facility. However, when discussing this topic with some friends they indicated their belief that any program which is "socialized" decreases in quality and effectiveness. As an example they cited health care in other countries. Now I am not trying to change topics here but it is an interesting idea. Would child care programs decrease in quality if there were some federal policies which increased the availability and affordability of childcare? I am so far without a definite opinion on this, for an opinionated person that is not comfortable!!! So if anyone has idea or opinions on the topic I would be highly interested in your thoughts.
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It always amazes me that people are so sure that quality decreases when the government is involved in programs. Where is the evidence that health care is lower in quality in Canada, Britain, etc.? And why is it that the life expectancy of the populations of those countries are comparable or better than ours?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I do not agree that federal policy in the form of regulation necessarily decreases quality or effectiveness. When regulation is slack [see Peanut Corp of America] or nearly non-existent, quality may be decreased and lives jeapordized.