Two pieces of good advice: (1) “Never sign nothin’ by neon,” and (2) “Never negotiate with snakes.”

But Joe Biden violated both rules this year, getting out-negotiated by Senate Republicans (and their tag-along Democrat, Joe Manchin). As a result, Biden completely surrendered an urgently-needed program for America: Universal child care.

The US child care system is broken at every level—availability is scarce, and even if parents can find an opening, the price is forbidding. Yet care providers and teachers are grossly underpaid.

So we’re doomed by corporate greed and Washington’s indifference, right? Wrong! Grassroots people across the country are demanding and getting real change at the state level.

Last year, for example, voters in New Mexico rallied a decade-long care rebellion to put a landmark initiative on the ballot to guarantee that all children ages zero to five have a constitutional right to quality early childhood education. Moreover, Amendment 1 allocates a steady stream of money from New Mexico’s Land Grant Permanent Fund to make this promise real. The vote initiative passed with 70 percent of the vote.

Vermont, led by such persistent grassroots groups as Let’s Grow Kids, is providing $130 million a year to establish a solid base for universal child care. Last month, the Republican governor vetoed the funding provision—but a bipartisan legislative majority, prodded by public demand, has now voted to override this veto.

Also, the red state legislature in Tennessee is providing a new and essential child care benefit to low-income parents of infants and toddlers: Diapers. And even some in the US Congress are beginning to get the child care message, having formed the first-ever Congressional Dads Caucus to push family-friendly policies.

This is Jim Hightower saying… This is democracy in action—when leaders won’t lead, shove them!

Do Something

To see what’s happening in your state, and find the groups that are making change happen, check out Early Learning Nation’s 50-state map.

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