LETTER: Low income families hurt by GOP stance on child care aid

To Ozaukee Press:

State Sen. Duey Stroebel’s recent letter to the editor (“Child Care Counts is cash handout to businesses”) is a good example of pretzel logic.

While Child Care Counts funding ends this year, his Wisconsin GOP Legislature voted down a proposal to spend $340 million for the program. This funding would keep thousands of Wisconsin child care businesses afloat and reduce individual family costs for those with low income.

Note that child care educators make $12 an hour, MacDonalds employees $15 an hour, Wisconsin’s lawmakers $74 hour.

Stroebel states that Child Care Counts is a “cash handout to businesses.” He does not mention that his Wisconsin GOP lawmakers called for tapping into the state’s $4 billion budget surplus to give tax cuts to the wealthy. With respect to handouts, Stroebel, who is not a farmer,  pocketed $63,000 of federal U.S. Department of Agriculture subsidies. He enrolled his property in the state’s Managed Forest Land program that provides tax breaks up to 75%.

Wisconsin’s regulation of child care facilities is governed by the Administrative Code Division of Early Care and Education. Stroebel is a real estate developer. He may want to review what he does not know. On the other hand, he recently voted for tax relief for the wealthy, road improvements much needed for Wisconsin’s infrastructure and, yes, child care.

It is interesting that lawmakers wear a coat of cloudiness rather than transparency.

Ken Bretl

Fredonia