Portside

Society has treated parenting as a private endeavor. But what if raising children is also a public good? The sheer logistical and financial madness of raising children in America is now officially a matter of political concern.

Our nation’s tax dollars are being poured into violence abroad while families here struggle to survive.

The tax code often assumes that economic resources within a household are shared equally and that caregiving has no independent economic value. Both assumptions obscure the realities of inequality and disproportionately disadvantage women.

If Mamdani learns from the mistakes that have derailed past efforts, he could pull off something that could change the lives of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers with young children. More than that, he could set a powerful national example.

Pragmatism is required to build a social democratic New York. The key to radical reform, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani clearly understands, is to be pragmatic as all hell.

Despite the frantic tone of mainstream media coverage (and the revolutionary overtones of the phrase “democratic socialist”) most of Mamdani’s agenda could be accomplished at minimal cost to the city. The only exception is free universal childcare.

Of all of Mamdani’s campaign commitments, free high-quality child care for every New Yorker from 6 weeks to 5 years old – while boosting child care workers’ wages to match that of the city’s public school teachers – could be the most transformative.

Newspaper headlines have called Donald Trump’s victory “decisive,” “massive,” “resounding,” “historic,” and “sweeping.” None of those things are true. Recent public opinion polls reveal that Trump’s professed policy agenda is very unpopular.

Reader Comments: Lies About Haitian Immigrants; Rev. Barber: Prophet for the Poor; Readers Disagree on Ranked Choice Voting; Leonard Peltier’s Continued Imprisonment; Govt Knew Ethel Rosenberg Not Spy; Find Affordable Child Care Near You; more....