New Mexico — long ranked worst in the U.S. for child wellbeing — became the first state to make childcare free for most families. The result? 120,000 people rose above the poverty line.<p>This wasn’t a moonshot. It was a single policy shift that removed a massive, structural bottleneck — one that millions of us face every day.<p>If you’ve ever tried building, working, or even thinking clearly while managing childcare, you know how hard it gets. For many, the constraint isn’t talent or effort — it’s whether they can safely hand off their kid long enough to get anything done.
I’m not sure how I feel about a government incentivizing daycare. I’d rather all parents receive financial support, regardless of their childcare decisions.