TESTIMONY: The role of child care in an equitable post-pandemic economy

Abby McCloskey, Senate Banking Committee Subcommitee on Economic Policy, June 23, 2021

“Chair Warren, Ranking Member Kennedy, and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

The nature of work and family has changed significantly in recent decades. The majority of parents of young children are now in the labor force, and mothers are the main breadwinners in 40 percent of families. 

This has created tensions around work and care that both the government and markets have failed to adequately address. 

Most recently, the pandemic revealed just how intertwined care is with the economy, providing a unique opportunity to rethink the child care landscape. 

As policymakers weigh new reforms, I’d like to put forward five principles to target our child care investment . . . .”

Conservative values support investing in child care as infrastructure. Here’s why.

Abby McCloskey, Politico, June 17, 2021

“Investment in early childhood care should be an obvious cause for Republicans to champion. At issue is the importance of healthy families, freedom of choice and the cultivation of economic opportunity. As someone who has been a full-time stay-at-home mother, a full-time working and commuting mother, and everything in between, I understand that these conversations are very personal, every family is unique, and family situations change.

What public policy should do is seek to create more options for parents trying to navigate through care and work, not fewer. It should be informed by more voices, not fewer. This is why the conservative voice is so critical in the care economy debate — why Republicans should take every opportunity to engage and improve upon Biden’s plan and why Democrats should take every opportunity to listen.”

Manhattan Institute: Strengthening Community: Law, Policy, And Voluntary Associations LIVE STREAM

Abby McCloskey, May 5, 2021, Manhattan Institute

America’s commitment to limited government creates space for citizens to use their liberty to build voluntary associations—such as churches, schools, community foundations, and sports leagues—to accomplish important social goals. These institutions form citizens, foster solidarity, enforce norms, pass on traditions, and serve those in need.

Despite the First Amendment’s freedom of assembly and a Court-recognized freedom of association, the status of these organizations is still unclear in a number of ways. Are associations only protected when they engage in political speech? Can the state force private groups to follow the same non-discrimination rules as government bodies?

As more power and money flow to Washington, voluntary associations are in jeopardy of losing their purposes. As elected officials seek to root out systemic discrimination, private groups associated with faith traditions or those following customs deemed antiquated stand to lose their particular character. But at the same time, more and more Americans are seeking local cohesion and a sense of community—precisely what voluntary groups offer.

Please join the Manhattan Institute on May 5th for a discussion with law professor John Inazu, policy analyst Abby McCloskey, and political science professor Luke Sheahan on how law and policy intersect with the bodies of civil society.

American Enterprise Institute: What is the future of family policy after the pandemic and beyond? | LIVE STREAM

Abby McCloskey, AEI, April 30, 2021

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the economic importance of healthy people and families — raising new questions about the role of US government policy in providing working adults access to paid leave during the pandemic and beyond. On April 30, AEI’s Angela Rachidi will summarize her recent research on paid leave access and use during the pandemic and the effectiveness of existing policies. Then AEI’s Scott Winship, Abby M. McCloskey of McCloskey Policy LLC, and Vicki Shabo of New America will join Dr. Rachidi to discuss the paid leave policy implications of what we have learned from the pandemic and assess the prospects for a national paid leave policy in the US.

Aspen Institute: Valuing Care: Principles for a Post-Pandemic Care Economy LIVE STREAM

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the value of caregiving work and the need for equitable and affordable access to care – for children, for elders, for those with a disability, and for all of us in hard times. Yet care work remains underpaid and often invisible, contributing to the inadequacies of the US care system and deepening challenges for caregivers and families. As we move from crisis to recovery, how can policy contribute to building a care economy that dignifies the work of caregivers and expands access to quality, affordable care? How can our systems center gender and racial equity to construct a care economy that serves all families? And how can our society support a healthy and sustainable caregiving system for our post-pandemic future, one in which the demand for caregiving is poised to continue to grow?

This special event hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program explores these questions and more. The event features an exciting lineup of policy and practice experts, cultural leaders, and caregivers, including Justin Baldoni (Director and Producer, “Clouds,” “Five Feet Apart”; Actor, “Jane the Virgin”; Cofounder, Wayfarer Studios), Erika Beras (Reporter, Marketplace), Heather Boushey (Member, Council of Economic Advisers, The White House), Abby McCloskey (Founder and Principal, McCloskey Policy LLC), Ai-jen Poo (Executive Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance; Director, Caring Across Generations), Dan Porterfield (President and CEO, The Aspen Institute), Adria Powell (President and CEO, Cooperative Home Care Associates), Mitt Romney (US Senator from Utah), Tina Tchen (President and CEO, TIME’S UP), and Dorian Warren (President, Community Change; Cochair, Economic Security Project).

Speakers discuss the important role of caregiving in our economy and society, as well as a variety of ideas for building an equitable care economy both in the near term for recovery and in the long term for a post-pandemic future.

The Economic Opportunities Program’s Opportunity in America discussion series has moved to an all-virtual format as we all do what we can to slow the spread of COVID-19. But the conversations about the changing landscape of economic opportunity in the US and implications for individuals, families, and communities across the country remain vitally important. We hope you will participate as we bring our discussions to you in virtual formats, and we look forward to your feedback.

We are grateful to the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, Walmart.org, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, and the Surdna Foundation for their support of this series.

Thanks to the stimulus, child allowances are here to stay

Abby McCloskey, Dallas Morning News, March 14, 2021

“The sheer magnitude of the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill masks its many components, but one of the most significant parts is an expanded child allowance. For the next year, American families will receive $300 monthly for every child younger than 6 years of age and $250 for every child age 17 or under, phasing out for couples earning more than $150,000.

While framed as a broad anti-poverty effort, the provision is no doubt penance to working parents and their children who have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 fallout. Closed schools and child care centers resulted in an exodus of 1 million mothers from the labor force, an increase in child hunger, and a catastrophic widening of racial and economic disparity in learning, the effects of which will be felt for a generation.

It’s unlikely that a monthly cash payment erases the hardship of this year, but perhaps it softens the blow (or brightens the image of the largely blue teacher unions and Democratic politicians that resisted reopening beyond what science suggested and now can be seen as benefactors).

But child allowances are likely to persist beyond the coronavirus recovery. This is because once a government benefit is in place it’s hard to claw back. It’s also because this proposal has bipartisan momentum despite our historically polarized politics…”

The Need for Continued Bipartisan Momentum on Paid Leave

Abby McCloskey, Adrienne Schweer, Bipartisan Policy Center, December 7, 2010

“We applaud the Senate’s bipartisan framework for a COVID-19 relief package. It represents a needed return to the collaborative congressional response that marked the beginning of the pandemic, and we hope it sets the tone for a more productive 2021 and beyond.

We understand that the nature of a moderate package means that not everyone gets what they want. That said, there’s an obvious bipartisan component missing from the deal: paid leave.”

The Supreme Court represents a huge missed opportunity for Biden

Abby McCloskey, Dallas News, October 21, 2020

“The Supreme Court vacancy is a huge opportunity for Joe Biden to demonstrate how he would govern, win over the exhausted majority, and restore normalcy to politics. Instead, he’s turned it into a liability.”

Our Unequal Recovery

Abby McCloskey, The Dispatch, October 20, 2020

“There are long term problems on the horizon, and not so far off. We can already see them: the lost schooling, the rising share of the unemployed, and how both intersect with existing racial and income disparities. Sooner rather than later, it will be time to pivot our crisis response to address the structural issues emerging from it. This will require Republicans to give more energy to the crisis response than they’ve given it, which in many cases amounts to talking about the crisis in past tense and thus far proposing only a skinnied-up version of what’s been passed so far. And it will require Democrats to focus their desire to spend more money on specific structural issues instead of boiling the ocean with taxpayer money that will eventually need to be repaid or using the crisis as an opportunity for wide-reaching partisan reforms only loosely related to the crisis at hand. “

Pence was right. Now is not the time to raise taxes. But it's also not time to undercut recovery with neglect.

Abby McCloskey, The Dispatch, October 9, 2020

“Pence delivered an effective critique of the Biden tax plan and progressive agenda, but lacked a positive agenda for moving us forward. Coming out of the VP debate, both political parties would be well advised to give more thought to how we rebuild our economy coming out of this pandemic—instead of launching a partisan spending spree only loosely related to the crisis or pretending that by simply keeping on with the status quo, this nightmare will be behind us in no time.”

PODCAST: Slate / New America - Caregiving in the 2020 Campaign

Abby McCloskey, Crisis Lab Communications, October 2, 2020

Political pundits have long insisted that care issues like childcare, elder care and paid and unpaid caregiving are not “bread and butter” economic issues that move voters or swing elections. Will that change in this unprecedented time of COVID-19? Are voters beginning to see that care work is no longer just “women’s work,” but central to a functioning economy? And what difference could that make on Nov. 3?

To take on this topic, Better Life Lab's Brigid Schulte is joined by:

• Roselyn Miller, Policy Analyst, Better Life Lab

• Amanda Brown Lierman, Managing Director, Supermajority

• Abby McCloskey, Founder, McCloskey Policy LLC

To hear more of this episode including stories and questions from callers, click here. You can also find this episode wherever you listen to your podcasts. The video and transcript of the conversation are down below.

NEW PAPER: Designing a paid leave policy to support our most vulnerable workers

Abby McCloskey, Angela Rachidi, Peyton Roth, AEI, October 7, 2020

• While the academic and political case for paid leave advanced considerably in recent years, questions remain regarding how a national paid leave program would affect low-wage workers.

• Research shows that many existing paid leave programs in the US and other countries impose costs on vulnerable populations due to regressive funding sources and fewer benefits to low-income parents caused by this group’s low program take-up rate.

• However, paid family leave programs offer significant advantages for low-income parents, increasing parents’ access to paid time off and benefiting low-income children financially and developmentally.

• Balancing these findings requires designing a public paid family leave program that supports low-wage working parents, limits private-sector benefit crowd out, and reduces the regressivity of funding.

How COVID-19 Could Clear a Bipartisan Path Forward on Paid Family Leave

Abby McCloskey, National Review, September 29, 2020

Rules of the game are now up for grabs

Abby McCloskey, Dallas Morning News, September 25, 2020

“The possibility of a blue trifecta; new, New Deal; a sitting president not accepting election results; packed Supreme Court, either conservative or with its size changed; and so much more.

Thoughts on our political chaos and what it means for the norms of engagement that undergird the whole thing. In today's paper:”

The Biden Agenda: What He Might Do For Working Families

Abby McCloskey, The Dispatch, September 10, 2020

“The 2020 presidential election comes at a time when America’s working families are under extreme duress. Democrat nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden brings compassion and policy reforms to provide relief and opportunity to families, but his proposals are not without downsides.”

The pandemic can be more than purgatory. It can be a time of deep spiritual formation.

Abby McCloskey, Dallas Morning News, August 9, 2020

“Ordinary Time is a season to hang the green banner instead of wave the white flag. The pandemic is all around us, but in our best moments, we can stop ourselves from thinking of it as a lost six months or lost year — a sort of purgatory and waiting it out. Rather we can see this as a period of time set aside for (painful) growth, re-anchoring to what really matters, establishing habits to persist after the trial is done. This is of course more easily said than done, requiring deep spiritual dependence, community and humility. There’s a reason why Ordinary Time cycles around each year in the church calendar. It is not learned all at once.”

What’s Missing From Senate GOP Plan

Abby McCloskey & Ben Gitis, The Dispatch, July 23, 2020

“Senate Republicans released their long-awaited plan for the next round of COVID relief, kicking off congressional negotiations centered on vital issues such as extending emergency unemployment benefits (though to a lesser degree), issuing another round of recovery rebates, and increasing testing. But what’s largely missing are targeted plans to help caregivers—who face unprecedented responsibilities largely due to child care center and school closures—return to work.” 

Bipartisan Policy Center - Morning Consult Poll: Unemployment Insurance and Caregiving Responsibilities During COVID-19

Abby McCloskey, Ben Gitis, Bipartisan Policy Center, July 2020

Workers are facing unprecedented caregiving responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, largely related to school and child care closures. Many workers lack options aside from unemployment insurance (UI) for balancing caregiving responsibilities with their jobs. A quarter of UI recipients—roughly 8 million workers—primarily spend their time caregiving, and caregiving is the primary barrier to reemployment among parents on UI who are not looking for a job. As the nation grapples with reopening, Congress can better support workers’ engagement in the labor force and their caregiving responsibilities.

Survey Parameters:

Morning Consult surveyed 1,500 persons receiving unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was fielded on June 19, 2020 – July 6, 2020.

The Power Of Community

Abby McCloskey and Aparna Mathur, National Affairs, Summer 2020

“The correlates of stalled economic opportunity tend to be local and relational, beyond what public policy alone can render. Rebuilding our connections to one another is thus ground zero for restoring the shared prosperity that undergirds the American Dream.”

Get Ready For The Economic Rollercoaster

Abby McCloskey, The Dispatch, June 18, 2020

“Our nation’s top forecasters predict that we are nearing an inflection point in the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Our polarized politics, coupled with a presidential election year and an evolving virus, are likely to understate the complexity, uncertainty, and continued adaptation that the recovery will involve. 

 Republicans are likely to emphasize the good—citing historic rates of improvement—and Democrats are likely to emphasize the bad—citing historic levels of damage—as if our giant and interwoven economy and her impending recovery can be understood in a binary way that fails to account for the full picture. “