Thanks to North Dakota’s oil boom the economy in my home town is hopping.  Jobs are available all over the place, and as a result a lot of families are seeing both moms and dads going off to work.  The problem this has left people with, however, is what to do with the tykes while mom and dad are off at work?  There just isn’t enough daycare space in Minot to meet demand for childcare.

Admittedly, it’s a good problem to have (better than wondering how unemployed mom and dad are going to feed the kids), but the people who need childcare are looking to the city council to solve this problem.  I’m left wondering why this is the city council’s responsibility.

Seems to me that the city council’s response should be, if anything, to clear some of the red tape away from the childcare industry.  Make it easier for entrepreneurs to open daycares and more daycares will open to meet demand.  That’s the wonder of free markets.

But other than that solution, this is pretty much a “problem” that should be left to solve itself.