Say Anything Blog

The on-going nationalization of private child care providers continues as the state uses day care subsidies to begin, essentially, running the day cares.  California Assemblywoman Julia Brownley has introduced AB627, which would limit the amount of time kids can spend watching television or playing video games at day care.

[The bill would] require child care centers receiving state reimbursement for their food programs to limit sugary sweets and drinks, prohibit deep-fat frying, mandate servings of vegetables and limit TV, computer and video-game use to one hour per day, among other regulations. ...

For children in full day care, screen time, including, but not limited to, television, video games, and computer usage, shall be limited to a maximum of one hour per day and shall be limited to educational programming or programs that encourage movement. For children in less than full day care, screen time shall be reduced proportionately.

So, what if a 5th grader needs to use the computer for two hours in a given day to do a homework project?  Is that unacceptable?  And what about parents?  Is this not a power grab by the state aimed at further isolating parents from the raising of their children with the idea that the state, and not the parents, know what’s best for the kids?

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want my kids spending hours every day playing video games at day care, but I feel that I can make that determination and that the state’s intervention simply isn’t needed.

It seems to me that this is just another step in a national effort to nationalize private child care providers, turning them into little more than extensions of the public school system.  And the move has been a textbook liberalism.  First they created a need for day care subsidy and assistance by regulating the industry so thoroughly that many Americans couldn’t afford to just pay a straight bill.  Then they created the subsidies and funding to meet the demand they created.  Now they’re using the subsidies and funding to exert control.

Just like with the financial industry.  First the government pressures lenders into lending indiscriminately, promising that the government will stand behind any bad loans.  Then when the loans crash and the lenders throw themselves upon the mercy of the government the politicians use it as an excuse to take over the lenders.

And on and on.

Too often we act like government assistance, specifically federal and/or state dollars flowing into the private sector, is a good thing.  Politicians pat themselves on the back for being so helpful.  But it isn’t good.  Government intervention in our free markets and society creates government dependency.  And government dependency creates government control.

We are selling our freedom to the government, and the government is buying it with our own tax dollars.