When Childcare Costs as Much as College

In the last twenty years the cost of childcare has outstripped every other item in the family budget. Meanwhile the quality of care is lower than any other developed nation in the world. According to the latest Pew Research Center study, a growing number of parents are opting out of the workforce as a result -- and despite the Lean-In and feminist revolutions -- the parent dropping out of the workforce is still, usually, a mom. Is the exploding expense of childcare setting back the clock on the women's movement? Should the government subsidize childcare as aggressively as higher education? Should the United States have federally mandated paid parental leave and more subsidies for childcare?