Ivanka @ RNC: Dad will "make quality child care affordable and accessible for all." OOOPS!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. Jesus.

Richard Nixon vetoed government funded child care because he thought by doing so women would stay home with their kids.

Now whether or not a woman should stay home is one discussion. The financial realities of life is another. Yeah, if men earned a whole lot more there would be somewhat more women staying home. But some women really like their jobs, some women are not crazy about being home all day with young children, and some women do not have a husband (or wife in this truly wonderful era of same-sex marriage) around to support them and the kids.

In the late 1960's I was a telephone operator. This was back when only women were hired for that job. I'd say about half of us were single, the other half married, and most of the married women had children. Actually some of them were single, as in divorced, women with kids. And even the ones with husbands on site, the husbands weren't earning very much money. I wish I could recall the statistic quoted me, but keep in mind this was nearly 50 years ago, but even the ones with husbands were often earning more than their spouses. So the reality is that for a very long time, as in just about forever, women have needed to work to support themselves and their families. Genuine child care should be a lot like health care for all. It's funded. Period. You use what you need. If you are happy staying home, then great. If you're healthy, great. But if you work outside the home, if you get sick, these things are taken care of.

What was truly great about working for Ma Bell back then was that as an operator, it was shift work, and there was an amazing variety of shifts available, and usually a woman could get one that would work for her. Plus the pay was decent, especially for a woman. And the benefits were likewise decent.