From Fringe to Front Page
If there’s anything Donald Trump has taught us, it’s that politicians shouldn’t be afraid to embrace out-of-the-mainstream ideas and throw them into the political discourse. And no, I don’t mean the Nazi stuff. I mean the well-meaning, empty promises that fire people up and drive them to the polls — the things that give people hope.
Now, I get it: empty promises are mostly just that. But they serve an important purpose. They plant the seed. They normalize ideas so that when those ideas come around again, they don’t sound so radical.
Take Andrew Yang’s campaign proposal for a Universal Basic Income, for example. He wanted to give $1,000 a month — no strings attached — to every adult in the country. It was meant to soften the blow from job losses due to automation, paid for by a value-added tax and by scaling back other federal programs. Pundits scoffed at the time. And yet, with AI rapidly advancing, it wouldn’t be surprising to see conversations about UBI start re-entering the mainstream.
Or look at Trump’s recent idea to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security — something no 2024 candidate was even talking about. Suddenly, the issue put a spotlight on Nevada, a swing state with a massive service industry workforce. And just like that, Kamala Harris echoed the no-tax-on-tips idea. The Overton window moved.
This is what I want to see more of — politicians thinking big. And I think it should start with a bold, unapologetic call to expand the nanny state with universal child care.
A Message to the So Called Pro-Lifers
It’s time to call out the Republican Party for its hypocrisy and force them to support a real pro-family agenda. The current right-wing panic — fueled by people like Elon Musk — is centered on declining birthrates in the U.S. and globally. Depending on which rabbit hole you go down, the general idea is that if people stop having babies, we won’t get the next Einstein or tech genius who saves the world.
There’s been plenty of speculation about why birthrates are dropping, but very little discussion about what can actually be done to change it.
Recently, Trump floated the idea of giving new mothers a $5,000 payment to encourage more births. It’s something, sure — but it’s not enough to convince most young people to start families sooner. That’s the opening Democrats should jump on.
Instead of letting Republicans dominate the conversation, Democrats should embrace a bold plan: free child care for all families, paid for with a tax on millionaires. Then put the GOP on the spot and force them to explain why they’re against making it easier for people to raise kids.
It Pays for Itself
If Republicans start whining about the price tag, just hit back with one of their favorite justifications for billionaire tax cuts: It pays for itself. Because in this case, it actually does — and in more ways than one.
Universal child care means more people in the workforce, especially women. That helps fill critical labor shortages in education, healthcare, and other sectors that have struggled since COVID. It also leads to better long-term outcomes: lower crime rates, better education, reduced poverty.
Families would save money and be able to invest more in their futures and in the economy. And yes — the government would collect more in tax revenue from the increased economic activity.
Depending on the scope and quality standards, estimates for a universal child care program in the U.S. range from $140 billion to $250 billion annually. That’s a big number — but not when you compare it to the $2 trillion cost of the Trump tax cuts, which overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy. If we can spend trillions enriching the wealthy, we can surely invest a fraction of that in something that benefits everyone.
Other countries — Sweden, France, Canada, Germany, Denmark — have already figured this out. We can, too.
The Best Is Yet to Come
And we don’t have to stop there. If universal child care feels too bold for some politicians, there are still smaller, meaningful policies that would make a huge difference for working families.
How about paid parental leave, so new parents actually get more time to bond with their babies? Or permanently expanding the Child Tax Credit, which — during its brief expansion — cut child poverty by a staggering 46%.
Democrats are constantly branded as the ‘big government’ party — even as Trump and the GOP expand government power in darker, more authoritarian ways. So if you’re going to wear that label anyway, you might as well show people how a smart, ambitious government can actually make life better.
Naïve as they may seem, big ideas that move the country forward deserve to be championed — not shelved. Expand the nanny state. Now.
