As a mom and a teacher in Grand Blanc, I see up close every day how the affordability crisis is pushing Michigan’s working families to the brink. As Mother’s Day approaches, I’m reflecting on all the ways moms are sacrificing to keep our families afloat as the cost of everything – from groceries and gas to health care and child care – climbs higher and higher. I’m steeling myself for the flurry of empty rhetoric celebrating moms from policymakers who are ignoring this crisis and gutting the programs our families rely on. But this year, I’m also grateful that some leaders on Capitol Hill are listening.
Last week, I traveled to Capitol Hill to testify at a mom-centered Congressional hearing on affordability. Hosted by the Democratic Women’s Caucus and the Mamas’ Caucus, it was a powerful conversation led by Michigan’s own Rep. Rashida Tlaib and featuring the voices of moms from around the country.
At the hearing, I told Congressional leaders that my husband and I have struggled to keep up with the cost of care and other essentials since we became parents. I know so many Michiganders can relate to that experience. We waited until our mid-30s to have our son, because we wanted to be financially ready. Turns out, it didn’t help, because our government hasn’t invested in the care policies that working parents need.
For example, paying for child care has been an enormous challenge. Before my son started elementary school, his child care cost about as much as our mortgage. I don’t know many people who can afford two mortgage payments. But we didn’t have a choice, because we needed quality child care to stay in our jobs and make ends meet.
Now that my son is in second grade, things are a little easier for us, but we still struggle with after-school and summer care. Any parent will tell you: The shortage of affordable care is so severe that there’s almost cutthroat competition to get a slot for your child. Summer is a hustle! And then even if you can piece different programs together, you have to pay through the nose for a week or two of care at a time. This year, we just can’t afford it.
I heard that Trump has called the affordability crisis a “hoax.” Let me assure you: It’s very real. On top of my full-time job as a middle school math teacher, I work part-time as a guest lecturer at a local university. I love my work, but it’s exhausting. And I still have to worry about our health care deductible. My son has a recurring doctor’s appointment each month, and sometimes we have to space them out so we can still pay our other bills.
It hurts, as a parent, to have worked so hard to “pull myself up by my bootstraps” as we’re told to do, and still struggle to pay for my son’s medication. I have no idea what we’ll do when we eventually need a new car, or how our family will pay for my son’s college – we’re just not able to save like we’d like to, because everything is so expensive.
It drives me nuts when I hear people like Trump and Vice President JD Vance complain about our country’s falling birth rate, while they and their Republican allies in Congress are attacking child care and gutting health care programs. My husband and I wanted a second child, but it just wasn’t financially feasible for us.
Last week’s hearing was a glimmer of hope, knowing that so many other moms are facing the same challenges and we have champions in Congress who are listening.
I want lawmakers to know that moms don’t want platitudes and empty recognition this Mother’s Day. We want action on child care, health care and affordability. We won’t stop pushing until lawmakers pass the policies our kids, families and economy need.
Julie Groce
Grand Blanc
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: It drives me nuts when Trump and Vance complain about the birth rate | Letters
Reporting by Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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