Child care costs more than college in these 24 states
(MarketWatch) While the astronomical (and rising) cost of college seems to garner all the media attention, it’s the cost of child care that should be more worrying for many parents.
Nearly 11 million children under the age of five require child care at least weekly and spend an average of 36 hours a week in child care — and for the parents footing the bill, this can make a serious dent in their finances.
In roughly half the states in this country, child care costs more than college, according to a report released this year by the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank focused on conducting research around the economic status of working Americans. Indeed, in 24 states and Washington, D.C., the average cost to care for a four-year-old for one year exceeds the cost of tuition for a year at a public, in-state four-year college. And in 33 states and Washington, D.C., the average cost to care for an infant for a year exceeds the cost of tuition for a year at a public, in-state four-year college.
Annual child care costs for a four-year-old range from $4,128 in rural South Carolina to $17,664 in Washington, D.C. The average annual cost of tuition for an in-state full-time undergraduate student in a public college ranges from $3,756 in Wyoming to $14,469 in New Hampshire. ....................(more)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/child-care-costs-more-than-college-in-these-24-states-2015-10-07?dist=lcountdown
= new reply since forum marked as read
It's a national shame that we burden families with this kind of cost all the while mouthing how much we care for children. You know, I have worked in several business parks over the years & I can't recall seeing one daycare center located in a biz park, much less one that is subsidized by the corporations in the park.
And as someone who doesn't have kids & never used daycare, often times getting the urgent project completed & out the door falls to those of us without kids, cuz the ones with kids have to get to the daycare center before a certain time or be charged more. Of course I understand why they have to leave, & I don't blame them for it, I blame the greedy corporations who demand so much from their employees but won't help with the burden that puts on the employee's family.
Dammit! I'm just so sick of everything-for-profit. 
on edit:
Here's what I think govt should provide every citizen:
3 hots & a cot
free daycare/elder care
free health care
free education through college
a comprehensive public transportation system
an Internet/digital package
I don't know how to work this out, but tell me why we can't have these nice things? Oh yeah, never-ending-war is why.
