Infant care in the big metros averages about $1,280 a month. Two kids? About $2,250. That beats rent in 85 of the 100 largest cities. National average last year: around $13,000 a year per child — a third of a single parent’s median income. In most states, infant care costs more than in-state public college. Only about 15% of kids who qualify for federal help actually get it. Everybody else writes the check and shuts up.

Washington can raid fake daycares. Fine. Catch the thieves. That still doesn’t explain why a real family with two jobs is funding preschool like it’s a second landlord.

How you fix it isn’t a slogan. Expand supply so centers can actually open and hire — wages there are still mid-teens an hour, so staff walk. Stop the cliff where you earn a little more and lose the whole subsidy. Push help that hits working parents monthly, not a tax form once a year. And don’t freeze honest families while you chase fraud.

If “family values” meant anything, watching your kid wouldn’t feel like a second mortgage.

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