"Momala" and "America's Dad" Make a Strong Care Ticket
A look at Harris and Walz's track records
Hello friends,
Are you, like me, still riding the wave of excitement around Kamala Harris becoming our new Presidential hopeful, and today’s announcement of her VP pick? Generally it’s gotten pretty gnarly out there in the world, but this new energy has me finally braving the news cycle again, donating and participating in activism, and generally feeling cautiously optimistic that we’ll have our first female President. So in a break from my more personal essays on care, today I’m sharing an analysis of what the Harris/Walz ticket has to offer caregivers.
Yesterday Kamala Harris moved from presumptive to official Democratic nominee, and today she announced that she has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her VP running mate. Let’s take a look at both of their track records on care issues: what has each accomplished (or not) when it comes to care policy, what do they tell us they stand for, and what might we be able to expect from a Harris/Walz White House?
Well, right off the bat Harris said the following to her campaign staff at their headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware:
“We believe in a future where no child has to grow up in poverty, where every person can buy a home, start a family and build wealth. And where every person has access to paid family leave and affordable child care… Together we fight to build a nation … where every senior can retire with dignity.”
In addition to what she says, Harris has a long track record of advocating for caregivers. As a Senator, Harris sponsored the Domestic Care Workers Bill of Rights, which increased protections for around 2 Million care workers - about 92% being women, and mostly women of color - who are frequently targets of abuses like wage theft and sexual harassment. She also supported Medicare for America, a version of Medicare for all, which would have supported long term care for aging adults and people with disabilities. During her 2019 Presidential Primary bid, Harris put forward an ambitious care platform, which included a six month national paid family and medical leave.
The Biden/Harris administration took an early and trailblazing interest in the care economy, particularly in the wake of the pandemic when the care crisis hit a breaking point. The American Rescue Plan focused on addressing the immediate care challenges driven by the pandemic, such as funding for childcare and direct support to families. Then, they introduced the Build Back Better Act (BBB), which proposed substantial investments in care, including a national paid family leave plan (though at four weeks, significantly shorter than Harris’ six month proposal), measures like increased wages and subsidies to make childcare more affordable and available, and in-home senior and disability care. Unfortunately the act fizzled in congress.
In 2022, the Biden Administration’s Executive order on Care (EO) attempted to address many of the same care challenges that were addressed in BBB, though the scope and funding was significantly more limited. Essentially the order directs existing agencies and programs to prioritize improving care policies, rather than providing funding for entirely new programs. Over the past year, the Biden administration has made progress toward several of the goals in this executive order, including:
Reduced childcare costs for low-income and military families
Increased pay for care workers, including gradually increasing pay specifically for Head Start teachers
Supported family caregivers in ways such as making mental health services more accessible to families caring for veterans and making medicare beneficiary information more accessible to family caregivers.
Kamala Harris has been a vocal advocate and key figure in moving BBB and the EO forward, and has often served as the public champion and messenger of care issues during the Biden term. She seems to be signaling that this was just the beginning and that she plans to tackle the care objectives of BBB - and then some - as President.
Lastly, it hasn’t gone unnoticed that Harris has lived many of our care stories. She (and her single mother) have benefitted from caregivers, she personally cared for her ailing mother through the end of her life, she has step-children, and she talks about these experiences openly and often as informing her understanding about the importance of care to Americans and to our economy.
…And what about Tim Walz?
He is a very solid choice from a caregiving perspective, but also brings advantages to the Harris ticket. A former social studies teacher and football coach with the nickname “America’s Dad, I heard him described today as a guy who codes “Midwestern Moderate” but governs as a true progressive. This could bode well!
As Minnesota governor, he signed into law the state’s paid family medical leave in 2023, which includes a provision for “safe time” for domestic violence survivors to find housing and deal with legal procedures. Walz also boosted wages for childcare providers, increased the child tax credit for families, and created a free school lunch mandate for all K-12 students.
Founder and CEO of Moms First, Reshma Saujani, shared on LinkedIn today:
[Walz] has called child care a “market failure” (hard agree!) and announced $6.2 million in child care grants to expand child care slots for little Minnesotans as recently as May of this year, and that’s in addition to the $316 million program to increase child care provider wages he announced in October 2023… To me, this all sounds like a pro-family champion who can put his money where his mouth is!
For elderly and disability care, as Governor he ushered in policies to increase wages for home care workers, and created a board to develop minimum standards around wages and care for nursing homes.
Walz has already shared that he is committed to making national paid family leave a reality in 2025 if Democrats win the House, Senate and White House in November.
Dare we get excited?
My optimistic hope is that, as Madam President, beyond doing quantifiably more in terms of dollars and policies aimed at supporting care, Harris will take a more holistic and truly care-centric approach. By this I mean looking at how we can, over time (and it will take time), build a society that is not only tolerant, but inclusive and supportive of caregivers and those in need of care.
I’ve written before about the fact that the US in particular is not a society that makes it easy for - let alone welcomes - children, elderly and disabled folks in public life. Treating the essential and basic human act of caring for others as a burden, and separating private/home/care life from public life not only keeps people from building empathy and understanding, but leads to age segregation that doesn’t benefit anyone.
Public policies need to encourage this inclusivity in every arena - urban planning, service industry regulations, transportation, accessibility and so on - in addition to the more obvious business and economic incentives to support care that have been most of the post-pandemic focus.
Washington State’s Care Insurance Program on the Chopping Block
Meanwhile, here in Washington, we have an interesting care-related policy debate going on. Initiative 2124, which will be on our November ballot, seeks to dismantle WA Cares, which is the first of it’s kind program to provide long term care benefits for the elderly and people with disabilities. It’s like a type of social security, where workers contribute a small percentage of wages to the fund, and are then able to draw upon benefits when needed. I-2124 would essentially bankrupt the program by making employees Opt-in.
Ai-Jen Poo recently visited Seattle to meet with and support organizations lobbying against I-2124. The main guy behind this initiative is a MAGA multi millionaire who just recently moved to WA from CA, and who is looking to play favorites with state republicans in order to earn tax breaks. WA has a history of sketchy initiatives sponsored by anti-tax millionaires making their way onto the ballot. This, in a state that already has an incredibly regressive tax scheme with no state income tax. Sigh.
If you’re in WA, vote no on I-2124!
📚 Reads
The Momala Economy: The Candidate Caregivers Have Been Waiting For Kamala Harris has long advocated for paid leave, child care and long-term care for older adults and people with disabilities
Here’s Where Tim Walz Stands on Six Key Issues - From Guns and Abortion to Child care He codes moderate but he is a true progressive.
WA Initiative Opponents Target the Millionaire Behind the Measures Brian Heywood used his money and moxie to get three conservative measures on Washington’s November ballot.