Porter draws out her points on her now-famous whiteboard and lays out some data. Porter says 43.6% of parents “had trouble finding their kid child care before the pandemic, let alone quality care. Let alone being able to pay for it.” She then focuses on another part of Biden’s plan to make early education more affordable: Biden’s commitment to universal preschool. Porter writes down “100%” on the whiteboard, which she says is “the percent of three- and four-year-olds who will have access to universal preschool under Joe Biden.” Then, Porter highlights Biden’s proposed tax credit. She says, “If you’re a parent with a kid in child care, you’ll get up to a $4,000 tax credit for one child. Two or more kids, up to an $8,000 tax credit.” What that means is that Biden, as outlined on his official website, “will offer up to $8,000 in tax credits to help low-income and middle-class families pay for child care as part of his comprehensive plan to create a 21st-century caregiving economy. This is a major expansion of the existing tax credit which could mean up to $6,800 in additional tax relief each year for such families.” His plan outlines that “In addition to his bold policies to protect and expand Obamacare, Biden will ensure that no family spends more than 8.5% of their income on health insurance by expanding access to refundable health premium tax credits.” And the tax credit will be fully refundable. To help out child care workers and child care facilities which often struggle to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, Porter explains that Biden’s plan will open up 1.5 million new early education jobs. According to a new study from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, “78% of open centers and 61% of open FCC [family child care] programs have fewer paid teachers now than before the pandemic.” You can watch the video here.
