Even in forward-thinking Reykjavik, finding a preschool place for the youngest infants is tough. Parents explain why
Parents do not pay the cost of childcare. Therefore parental deamnd fo9r childcare tends to run ahead of supply.
This is not difficult.
I just don’t believe it adds up for most women with small children to work. Sticking a thumb on the scale with “free childcare” just means women will work when they might prefer to have their taxes in their pocket and stay home with the kids. Especially if we stopped having so many pointless jobs in government bureaucracy and compliance (Which women do).
You train at university for five years to become a preschool teacher
I think I’ve found Iceland’s problem. It takes nine months to increase demand, but five years to ramp up supply.
I suspect credentialism. Mothers of children old enough to go to and from school on their own must be trained in reading stories and changing nappies by experts designated by the state.
When you get taxpayer funded or subsidised services you get rationing. It’s that simple.
“The move has largely been assessed as a success. Academics from the University of Iceland, Ásdís Arnalds and Guðný Eydal, say studies show parents are dividing the care of their children more equally.” That’s the way to measure success: getting men to do the same “work” as women.
Iceland’s fertility rate is not great, but at 1.72 it is higher than the European average of 1.53. You might argue that is a result of more subsidised childcare.
Agree with BoM4 that very often it’s not worth a woman with small children working. I often see tales in the newspapers of families ‘struggling with the cost of living’ and spending thousands on childcare so Mum can earn a few quid a month in some busywork job. More often than not they’d be better off with her fitting a few hours a week round childcare.
Seems like a sensible policy would be to allow you to claim the cost of the childcare directly if you didn’t work, surely better to pay people to raise their own kids, or alternatively have a reduced rate for grandparents/family to do the childcare.
I’ve seen the usual activists rumblings about childcare is a ‘right’ and so there’s an obligation for state to provide it
O/T In other news, the Mad Catwoman’s taken a £2m fall in the Banks libel case. Schadenfreude is bliss, isn’t it?
The USA (esp California, Texas) makes it easy for skilled mothers to return to work early by making the cost of Mexican au peres, maids, nannies affordable.
Achieved by Mexican immigrants being largely illegal and keeping shut about it if you hire one.
World has gone mad when an illegal system works better.
World has gone mad when an illegal system works better.
Compare the Canadian cannabis business, where the illegal operators provide better product and make money, while the legal operators sell (I’m told) an inferior product, and are going broke doing it…
Shows the value of those planned and regulated markets, right?
“World has gone mad when an illegal system works better.”
Quite the opposite. When government gets out of the way (or is ignored), things run much smoother.
O/T In other news, the Mad Catwoman’s taken a £2m fall in the Banks libel case. Schadenfreude is bliss, isn’t it?
Oh noes – who will feed the cats now?! Those crowdfunders are going to have to dig deep 🙂
‘Achieved by Mexican immigrants being largely illegal and keeping shut about it if you hire one.’
So all these lefties support illegal immigration to provide themselves with servants. As bis points out, it’s always about self-interest.
Bongo and Bogan (a double act?), as some bint said during the Brexit charade / confidence trick, “But who’ll make my sandwiches in Pret”?