FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM OCTOBER 17, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 25
oped letters & comments
Why robust child care support is a
boon for families – and businesses
BY SCOTT M.
STRINGER AND
JESSICA RAMOS
Th e cost of child
care in New York City
has become a crushing
burden for too many
households, which
is why we’ve recently
championed state
legislation to expand
and improve child care
options for thousands
of working families
across the fi ve boroughs.
Right now, just one of every seven
eligible infants and toddlers in New
York City has access to subsidized
child care. And the average annual
cost of child care for families oft en
soars above the cost of rent.
Th at’s unsustainable — and it has
to change to make New York a place
that’s livable and aff ordable for families.
Our “NYC Under 3 Act,” also sponsored
Photo by Michael Stinson/Offi ce of the New York City Comptroller
by Senator Brad Hoylman and
Assembly member Latrice Walker,
delivers the reforms we need. It would
more than triple the number of children
under age 3 in city-backed care
by providing graduated subsidies to
working families with earnings up to
$100,000 a year for a family of four. It
would provide relief by slashing child
care costs for families — and driving
that bill down to zero for the families
who are struggling most.
But expanding quality, aff ordable
child care to tens of thousands isn’t just
the right thing to do for our kids and
families — it’s smart for our economy.
With the unemployment rate at a
record low, many employers are struggling
to fi ll vacancies. But with our
plan, we estimate that some 20,000
parents — mostly single mothers with
lower incomes — would be able to fi ll
the gap by entering or re-entering the
labor force.
Th ose new employees would earn
$540 million a year — money they
need, and money that would be invested
back into the economy in the form
of spending and taxes. Beyond that,
with a quality child care system in
place, businesses would gain a more
stable workforce, as parents would not
be forced to cut back hours or leave
their jobs when they have a child.
So child care is about our parents,
our children — and our workforce.
And that’s why the NYC Under 3 Act
is supported by a small payroll tax on
the biggest employers. Only the top 5
percent of businesses in the city (based
on payroll) would be subject to the tax
and a full 95 percent of city businesses
would be exempt from it. And these
big corporations pay the highest wages
in the city: the average wage for that
5 percent of businesses is nearly three
times that of the 95 percent of businesses
that are excluded.
But let’s dive deeper. Only corporations
with payrolls over $625,000 per
quarter — not per year, as some coverage
has intimated — would have to
pay a fraction of a single percent more,
rising from 15/100ths of a percent on
payrolls over $2.5 million per year, to
22/100ths of a percent above $10 million
per year, with one step in between.
Th is small, graduated tax on the city’s
largest corporations would boil down
to about $259 per employee per year.
And because it’s a payroll tax — unlike,
say, an income tax on high earners —
it would be fully deductible on a fi rm’s
federal business income tax, actually
helping to reduce a business’s tax burden.
Moreover, making it easier for
people to raise families in New York
will help draw the best talent from
around the globe.
We have to be focused on the longterm
impacts too. Research tells us
that for every dollar spent on early
childhood education, we save $8 down
the road as a society. Investing in
those critical years, when 80 percent
of brain development occurs, means
getting every child to the starting line
of school together. Investing in every
child by expanding access points to
education is essential to creating an
impact across all societal structures,
particularly ending the cycle of the
school-to-prison pipeline that we
know will decrease the rates of recidivism
in our communities. Th e fact is
achievement gaps don’t start in kindergarten
— or even pre-kindergarten —
they start on day one of a child’s life.
Here’s the real bottom line: It’s time
for everyone, including big business,
to contribute to creating a stable workforce
and helping our children succeed.
“NYC Under 3” is a bold, progressive
solution that can make our
city a national leader in the fi ght to
give every child an equal playing fi eld
starting on day one. It would be a
win for our kids, our families and our
economy.
Scott M. Stringer is the New York
City Comptroller and Jessica Ramos is
a Queens state Senator
PLEASE GIVE BLOOD TO
HELP SAVE SOMEONE’S LIFE
How would you like to save someone’s
life? Life is such a precious commodity and
I think some of us wonder if there is something
we can do to help someone in need.
Well, I have a suggestion!
I am Grand Knight of St. Anastasia
Knights of Columbus Council #5911 and
we are hosting a blood drive at St. Anastasia
Parish in Douglaston with the help of Boy
Scout Troop #153. It will take place on Nov.
10, which is the day before Veterans Day,
when we honor our veterans who gave the
ultimate sacrifi ce with their blood for our
great nation.
Head to Father Smith Hall, which is
attached to St. Anastasia Parish — located
at 45-14 245th St. — to donate between 8:45
a.m. and 2:45 p.m.
Th is is a great opportunity for many to
truly give the gift of life by donating blood.
Th ere is no substitute for human blood.
One in three people will need blood
sometime during their lives and your donation
now is critically important. Close to
2,000 men, women and children in our
communities — including cancer, transplant
and surgery patients, trauma victims,
accident victims, newborn babies and
many others — need blood transfusions
each day.
For more information or for places closer
to your homes can go to the New York
Blood Center at www.nybloodcenter.org.
Please give the gift of life for it is sorely
needed.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr., Glen Oaks Village
WHY SHOULDN’T
THERE BE A MOTHER
CABRINI STATUE?
Why are certain people so opposed to
having a statue of Mother Cabrini built?
She accomplished many wonderful things
during her life and helped many, many people.
As an Italian American, I take great
off ense to those who are so vehemently
opposed to having this statue erected.
She rightly deserves her place alongside
other prominent American women
who have been approved to have statues of
themselves erected.
Shame on New York City’s First Lady
Chirlaine McCray for not being supportive
of the majority of people who want to
see this statue of this wonderful Roman
Catholic nun built. She should be ashamed
of herself big time!
Build the statue and honor Mother
Cabrini — now!
John Amato, Fresh Meadows
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