>

Relying on corporate America and Wall Street to have employees best interests in mind is a fools gambit. 
Corporations won’t let this hit their bottom line. They’ll just lower salary, or start hiring more contractors and part-time workers without benefits.  
No government action that requires voluntary compliance from corporations will work
My uncle is super pissed off that my cousin's wife is staying home and not working.  Childcare is so expensive she doesn't think it is worthwhile.  She was making 12 an hour, and childcare was eating around 700 a month, after taxes she was spending half of her time working just to pay for childcare.    My cousin was vocally against it until he figured out that with her clipping coupons, not driving, not eating lunch out every day etc., they actually have nearly the same spending money.  
Pay is too low and everything costs too much. >

I’m amazed she can find childcare for $700. I’m paying close to 2,000, and we were on like five waiting lists when I was 12 weeks pregnant to even get a spot by the time he was 4 months old. >

Worked in childcare for 5+ years, I'm convinced the entire industry is on the verge of collapse any time now. We were dangerously low on staff, much less staff you want to trust your children with like 4 years ago and we were bleeding staff including myself. Then COVID hit, some other things and I'm amazed any childcare is even available anymore. >

When I moved here to Texas I did all the research and wrote up a full pro-forma on running an in home daycare so my wife could stay home. The math simply makes no sense without either paying slave labor wages ($12/h is average here for childcare workers) or charging ridiculous prices. Subsidy really is the only viable answer because I won't pay people garbage to work for me so we scrapped the idea. When Texas completely runs out of child care maybe they will change their tune. >

They’ll probably try to have child labor laws scrapped. No day care needed if the kid has a job. >

The plan as far as I could see by reading through the regulations to get certified is to just lower the standards of care. You can have an unlicensed day care here with up to 4 kids. So... Yeah, you could be an axe murdering chomo meth addict here and watch 4 kids no problemo. Also, for a state so obsessed with illegal immigration, that does seem like a glaringly obvious loophole right? Almost like the state is OK with it as long as it's low paid, unskilled labor. >

The four kids rule is in my state as well. My wife looked into doing it since she's a SAHM and with cpr training and other certs, insurance, and increased overhead from food/diapers/clothes/toys it wasn't worth even considering without charging an insane amount per child. The money just isn't there for anyone involved. >

exactly the same results I came to when I wrote up a business proforma. >

I'm not sure what a proforma is lmao. I just understand numbers and costs. I think the point where it was remotely worth it to us was if she charged 10 an hour per kid. And that still amounts to, a minimum of 20k a year in child support for a family. It's not worth it for most families when the secondary income usually isn't much better than that, or even that good. >

A proforma is just a financial plan, a breakdown of how your business would perform with numbers. It's exactly what you just said done formally. >

Because employers sure as hell aren't holding up their end with benefits like *checks notes* fair compensation >

They need to bring back pensions! THAT will get the results they're looking for! >

I tell someone old this weekly. There is zero reason for company loyalty without a pension. Even pensions were over promised and under delivered, but at least it was worth hanging around for. >

My grandfather used to work at BF Goodrich for the majority of his career.  When he was 6 months from retirement (having worked there for along ass time) they cut him and a few other people, citing "poor performance" and he lost his pension.  Was there for decades working.  
If pensions were a thing, there would need to be more protections for people.  Or something.
Maybe there are?  But most places don't offer them so who knows. >

Australia: government pensions, not company based; mandatory superannuation payments paid at 10% of base salary, by ALL employers; government supported aged care places; social housing solutions. Pension increases are indexed to CPI. It’s not a lot of money - currently about $27k per annum against an average wage of $65k but it helps. >

socialism!! evil!!! first pensions, then universal healthcare! it’ll be the apocalypse!!! >

Wait til I tell you about the universal healthcare, with private options and the pharmaceutical benefits scheme that means we DON’T go bankrupt from paying for healthcare or overpriced medications. Then there’s a minimum wage guarantee, 4 weeks paid annual leave, 10 days paid sick leave and paid maternity leave (usually 12 weeks). Many employers pay above these wage floors. We have to pay for university education now, but that can be offset and repaid over time as a small percentage of income. >

“Childcare won't fix all the labor market's challenges. Men in their prime working years, or those between 25 to 54, have fled the workforce since February 2020.” I’m not sure why this author seems to think that childcare costs don’t impact men’s participation in the labor force. My wife earns more money than I do, so if one of us stayed home then it would be me. Honestly I only am still working because I like my job, financially it makes almost no difference if I work or not. >

Yeah, my husband is now a stay at home Dad. He was only making $23/hour. It wasn’t worth him working when childcare for an infant is $400/week. After gas, mileage, and buying lunch 5x week was factored in, we’re breaking even with him staying home. >

I mean I make good money but buying lunch every day is crazy. I normally get something oce a week as a treat but that shit is too expensive >

What do you eat then? Sandwiches? >

Generally that's the sensible thing. Or make a big dinner and eat leftovers. The whole eating out every day is upper middle/lower upper class mindset.
Or just don't eat because humans have evolved to resist famine. >

Yeah I need to adjust my lifestyle. I’ve eaten out every day 2-3 times a day for almost 10 years now. Costs more than my rent, but it’s all I’ve known in my adult life >

Holy fuck. How is your health? >

No reply, assumed dead. >

And Republicans would block these plans at every turn, including the Supreme Court. >

The historical average of workers entering the labor pool is down 400,000 this year. Next year it will be 500k fewer than historical average.Now add in the fact peak retirement for baby Boomers is right now, and we have a labor crisis that idiots are blaming on low participation by zoomers, and millenials. The zoomers are such a tiny generation that it guarantees a labor crisis for the next two decades get used to it. >

To be fair, this should have been expected and planned for years ago. Generation X was a very small generation and this is the second time it's happened due to those smaller numbers. 
Boomers waited longer to have kids than the generations before them. Women having actual careers only furthered this. This continued into the already small Gen X.  It picked back up with Millenials and will in time with Gen Z, but there will be a lull a few more years. It is just the start of Gen Z entering the workforce. 
Gen Z also has a higher number going to some form of post HS education than before. This also stalls the numbers temporarily.  Those in Gen Z who pursued law school or medical school are also just now entering the work force. >

None of it would matter if capitalism didn’t demand unlimited growth. If CEOs and Corporate boards could analyze their quarterly reports in the context that they will never see the amount of consumption that that occurred in the late 20th - early 21st century our society might stand a chance. There just is not enough demand with boomers entering retirement and millennials and gen z just don’t buy shit as much as boomers did. >

But but but….. 
The corporatists have had ~75 years of near unlimited growth, profits and consumption. Bezos, Musk, Zuckerberg and the cadre of mega billionaires are going to run the whole world into the ground before even lifting an eyelash to stabilize and/or change the system.
It’s going to take mass demonstrations like in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and significant government reforms to wrest control from them and the religionists. 
That being said, I’m actually hopeful this will happen. The crush of climate change and the resulting mass migration to more temperate climates will likely force their hands. >

The US and the west in general may reduce consumption, but there is a great big world out there full of people who are ready to buy.  We may never be free of rampant consumerism, but we can work to make it less impactful on the environment.  And even if we do end rampant  consumerism, more sustainable practices are not a wasted endeavor.
It is easy for people with full fat stomachs to tell everyone to skip a meal.