Having a family is expensive. This is what Harris and Trump said about cutting costs

WASHINGTON (AP) — The high costs of child and elder care have pushed women out of the workforce, ruined family finances and left professional caregivers in low-paying jobs — all while slowing economic growth.

That families are suffering is not up for debate. With the economy increasingly front and center in this presidential election, the Democratic and Republican candidates have outlined cost-cutting proposals that reveal their differing views on the family.

On this point, the two candidate lists have one thing in common: Both presidential candidates – and their running mates – have at some point spoken out in favor of expanding the child tax credit.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who accepted the Democratic Party nomination last week, has indicated that she wants to build on the ambitions of outgoing President Joe Biden's administration, which sought to pour billions of taxpayer dollars into making child care and home care affordable for older and disabled adults. She has not worked any of those plans into a formal policy program. But in a speech earlier this month, she said her vision includes an increase in the child tax credit.

Former Republican President Donald Trump has deflected questions about how he would make child care more affordable, despite addressing the issue during his own time in office. His running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, has a long history of promoting policies that would encourage Americans to start families, tossing around ideas like giving parents the right to choose for their children. Just this month, Vance said he wants to increase the child tax credit to $5,000. But Vance opposes government spending on child care, arguing that having one parent stay at home to care for children would benefit many children.

Candidates' care programs could play a major role in how attractive they are to suburban women in swing states, a coveted demographic seen as key to victory in November. Women perform two-thirds of unpaid care work – worth $1 trillion annually – and are disproportionately affected when families can't find affordable care for their children or aging parents. And the cost of care is a pressing issue: Child care prices are rising faster than inflation.

Kamala Harris: Increase child tax allowance

When Harris spoke at the Democratic National Convention, she began by talking about her own experience with child care. She was raised largely by a single mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who worked long hours as a breast cancer researcher. Among the people who made up her family's support network was “Mrs. Shelton, who ran the daycare below us and became a second mother to us.”

As vice president, Harris worked behind the scenes in Congress on Biden's proposals to create nationwide paid family leave, make pre-K universal and invest billions in child care so families don't have to pay more than 7% of their income for it. She also announced administration measures to reduce co-payments for families using federal child care vouchers and increase wages for Medicaid-funded home care workers. Previously, as a senator, she pushed for more labor rights for domestic workers, including nannies and home care workers who may be at risk of exploitation.

This month, Harris outlined her campaign's economic program at a community college in North Carolina, which includes increasing the child tax credit to up to $3,600 and an even higher allowance for families with newborns of $6,000 for the child's first year.

“This is a vital year of critical development for a child, and the costs can really add up, especially for new parents who have to buy diapers and clothes and a car seat and so much else,” she told the audience. Her choice of Tim Walz, who as governor of Minnesota introduced paid leave and a child tax credit, as her running mate, has also boosted optimism among supporters.

Donald Trump: Few details, but some support from the past

Trump has offered few solutions for voters struggling with the high cost of child care. During the presidential debate in June, CNN moderator Jake Tapper asked Trump twice what he would do to reduce the cost of child care. Both times he did not answer, instead moving on to other topics. His election platform is also silent on this. It does address the cost of long-term care for the elderly and states that Republicans would “support unpaid family caregivers through tax breaks and reduced red tape.”

The silence marks a reversal from his first campaign, when he promoted paid parental leave, even though it was panned by critics because his proposal excluded fathers. When he entered the White House, the former president, at the urging of his daughter and political adviser Ivanka Trump, called for $1 billion for child care and a parental leave policy. Congress rejected both proposals, but Trump managed to double the child tax credit and introduce paid leave for federal employees.

In his 2019 State of the Union address, Trump said he was “proud to be the first president to include in his budget a plan for nationwide paid family leave so that all new parents have the chance to bond with their newborn child.”

This year, there are signs his administration may not pursue the same agenda, including the choice of Vance as his running mate. In 2021, before entering the Senate, Vance co-wrote an editorial for the Wall Street Journal opposing a proposal to invest billions in child care to make it more affordable for families. He and his co-author said expanding child care subsidies would lead to “unhappier, unhealthier children” and fewer mothers contributing to the economy could be a worthwhile trade-off.

Vance has proposed measures that would make it easier for families to live on a single income and that would allow some parents to stay home while their partners work. In addition to supporting measures he describes as family-friendly, he calls people who don't have or want children “sociopaths.” He once derided Harris and other rising Democratic stars as “childless cat ladies,” even though Harris has two stepchildren – they call her “Momala” – and no cats.

Even without details on new care policies, Trump is convinced that families will ultimately be better off under his administration.

The Trump-Vance campaign attacked Harris' record on the economy, claiming that the Biden administration's policies have only made life more difficult for families, citing recent inflation.

“Harris … has proudly and repeatedly celebrated her role as Joe Biden's co-pilot in the Bidenomics movement,” said Karoline Leavitt, a campaign spokeswoman. “Basic needs like food, gas and housing are less affordable, unemployment is rising, and Kamala doesn't seem to care.”

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