Dear editor,
Response to the letter regarding the $10 a day child care printed March 9.
I see the issue from the totally opposite angle. We have two jobs-related issues not only in this province but in the nation. First is high unemployment numbers. I believe that instead of encouraging both parents to work out of home, one of the parents should be offered a substantial tax credit when the other has chosen to stay at home and take care of the family. This would leave more jobs available for others who truly require employment. This would soon clear up a second problem we have, low minimum wage. As fewer workers are available, soon the employers would need to offer higher wages and benefits to keep their employees, thus causing a natural increase in minimum pay for entry level jobs. This would encourage employers to promote from within.
Back in the ’70s when I entered the job market, I was offered every job I applied for. It could be that way again for our young people. With child abuse and neglect always a worry, many couples would love to afford to have one of them stay home. An added bonus is that with more parents at home, many would help out a neighbour or friend by babysitting, which would alleviate the problem of not being able to find proper daycare which should also bring down that cost for the families who must work or choose to work. This could also allow the government to tighten up restrictions on welfare recipients, many of them not even bothering to look for work because they are collecting more by staying at home than they would make working. Single working parents could be offered something similar because they are in a situation where they must work. Quit encouraging the governments to pass laws and rules and implementing aid and benefits which all seem to take more funding than it’s worth just to handle an issue that could easily work itself out.
Jan Lealand
Courtenay