SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Unfair to stay-at-home moms (and dads)

Aug 16, 2016, 9:59 PM

daycare, childcare...

(AP Photo)

(AP Photo)

In a rare area of agreement both presidential candidates want to help working families with childcare expenses.

Trump recently proposed a tax deduction for parents who place their kids in daycare; Clinton backs an even more costly plan, providing a refundable tax credit that would send daycare reimbursement checks even to families paying no income tax.

Both candidates, however, fail to recognize the unfairness of such arrangements to parents who decide to leave the workforce or cutback hours to care for their children themselves.

Any arrangement to give tax breaks or subsidies to families with kids in daycare should provide equivalent support for parents who make big sacrifices to care for their own kids.

If federal policies ignore or exclude such stay-at-home-moms-or-dads, that means government encouragement for the choice to place your children in the care of others, while ignoring the crucial, personal child-rearing role that many parents still choose to play.

FILE - Haiti's President Jovenel Moise speaks during an interview at his home in Petion-Ville, a su...

Associated Press

What to know as trials over the assassination of Haiti’s president resume in Miami

Five years after the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, dozens of people arrested in connection with the killing in the troubled Caribbean nation are still awaiting trial in Miami. Haiti has not had a president since a squad of gunman killed Moïse and wounded his wife in an overnight raid at their home. U.S. […]

5 minutes ago

FILE - President Donald Trump speaks during an event on fuel economy standards in the Oval Office o...

Associated Press

Trump administration set to roll out lower fuel economy standards for cars, light trucks

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration on Monday plans to release new fuel economy standards that would relax regulatory requirements for automakers to control pollution from gasoline-powered cars and light trucks. President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social media account Saturday that the less stringent mileage requirements would “take the waste out of […]

5 minutes ago

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters upon arriving, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, at Joint Base A...

Associated Press

Trump said he would dine with Anthropic CEO amid mounting AI debate

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump had plans to dine late Sunday with the CEO of Anthropic, one of the leading voices on artificial intelligence but also someone who’s sparred with the Trump administration over the military’s potential use of AI. Trump told reporters after returning to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland that he was […]

2 hours ago

President Donald Trump, from right, and first lady Melania Trump attend a tea with China's Presiden...

Associated Press

Trump asked China’s president if he wants to buy US arms, ambassador says

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has justified the pending U.S. arms sale to Taiwan to Chinese President Xi Jinping by downplaying it as just one of many sales Washington makes around the world — even asking Xi if he’d be in the market for U.S. arms, Trump’s ambassador to China said on Sunday. David […]

4 hours ago

Ohio Sen. Jon Husted speaks at the Republican convention in Dallas, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP P...

Associated Press

Trump to travel to Ohio to stump for Sen. Jon Husted as the Republican faces competitive challenge

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to visit Ohio on Saturday in support of Sen. Jon Husted as the Republican tries to fend off a competitive challenge from Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown. The trip to Vandalia, just north of Dayton, is scheduled to come after stops in Oklahoma on Thursday and Alabama on […]

4 hours ago

Associated Press

Sheriff: 12 teens wounded in a shootout at a birthday party in Georgia park

MACON, Ga. (AP) — Two groups of people shot at each other during a birthday party at a Georgia city park, resulting in gunshot wounds to 12 teens, a sheriff said Sunday. The shootout occurred early Sunday morning, shortly after midnight, at Carolyn Crayton Park in Macon, Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said during a […]

7 hours ago

Unfair to stay-at-home moms (and dads)