Praise is due Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., for renewing his efforts last week to help more businesses provide child care for their employees, this time via the Senate version of the bill to increase the minimum wage. His measure, which enjoys bipartisan support, would make small businesses eligible for matching grants of up to $500,000 for costs related to providing child care for employees. Unlike many lawmakers, Roberts has long understood that the challenge for many isn’t just finding a job, but also finding the safe, reliable, affordable child care they need to take and keep a job. Roberts said in a statement that small employers “agree their workers deserve a fair wage for a fair day’s work. They admit, though, that they struggle to offer basic benefits to their employees such as child care. With a mandated increase in the minimum wage, that struggle only grows.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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113 Comments
Roberts has a good plan. He wants to offer incentives to businesses who are trying to offer childcare facilities.
That’s the correct way to do it.
The incorrect way is to demand that businesses provide daycare and not offer any incentives for them to do so.
I like the plan. I hope it passes.
Roberts got a wake-up call from the voters last time around.
Government isn’t the problem, Pat. Bad Senators are.
Now he tries to act like a Democrat?
Sorry, Pat. You nailed your feet to the sinking ship called Bush– now you’re going down.
National Health Insurance would be a huge benefit to small local business as well. Small local business could attract the best and brightest not to mention the fact that small local business keep their money in OUR communities.
Yeah, it’s some phony BS.Considering that the end goal of the conservative movement is to repeal Johnson’s ‘great society’ and Roosevelt’s new deal.They are currently carrying out this strategy by bankrupting our country in a time of “war”.When the whip comes down, social programs will dissapear while military spending continues to skyrocket, effectively ending the great society and new deal reforms.IF they get social security ‘privatized’, it will be the final nail in the coffin.Investing in only private corporations is asking us to invest in our own demise, as the companies we invest in plan to outsource, downsize, and lower wages as part of their business plans.
Wrong again CapnCrunch. Roberts pressed this legislation in 2005.
Capn has it right, why is he doing things that appeal to dems?But I guess I’ll take it as it comes.
The problem is that most employers are not willing to build special rooms for daycares into their buildings, staffing it, and taking on the liability.
But at least its a start for those who might consider it. I just don’t see it making a big difference though.
The better option: give incentives for people to begin their own daycares in their homes, relax the standards for creating a daycare, and allow more money into the programs that help poor working mothers afford it. There also need to be more options than just DAY care, such as nights and evening shift daycares, special needs daycares, sick daycares…etc.
I lived this problem of finding daycare when my daughter was little and I was a single parent. I ended up using an illegal daycare.
…crats fail to read…”The proposal has a record of strong bipartisan support.”…
So why has it taken Pat Roberts so long to finally think of this now? And if they can do with this with day care, then why not offer to help all employers offer affordable health insurance? When is that issue going to be politically correct to get behind?
I’m still waiting for Pat Roberts to release that report from his time as chairman of the Intelligence Committee – you know that second report about the run-up to the Iraq War?
….,
even if the ‘crats could read – it is doubtful they could comprehend. CapnCrunch stated Roberts did this as a wakeup call after the election – but Roberts did it long before. I pointed that out – the Pm comes along and it goes right over her head. Sheesh.
GS, read the time I posted mine. Yours wasn’t even up at the time I was writing my post.
Why do the republicans always skirt around the REAL problems of what is going on instead of addressing it directly? They advocate laws that do not really help.
Can you think of ONE place in our town that would even consider putting in a daycare? ONE place that even has the room?
Roberts represents Kansas, and not just Kansas City. And most of Kansas is RURAL, where the other towns are mostly like ours.
The concept is a good idea. God knows, I would certainly utilize it. I do use a registered in home daycare, she wound up giving me a break on her pricing and charging me $40 a week less than what she normally charges for infants because of my situation
Filibustering a minimum wage bill because it doesn’t have childcare provisions? Come on! They were never going to pass an increase in minimum wage when repubs were in power, and they’re doing everything they can to derail one now. And subsidized childcare? They’ve been against that since day one too!This is playing politics in the worst way, and lying about it to boot!
Hey Crap on America: as usual you are wrong, wrong, wrong. “Government is the problem”. Bad Seanators are just a symptom.
Yup Roberts remembers the last election ok. Suddenly he wants to be worker friendly.
“We’ll proceed with Phase II. It is a priority. I made my commitment and it will get done.”–Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), on Bush use of false intelligence on Iraq, 07/09/04, Link
“I don’t know if we can get it done before the election.”–Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), on Bush use of false intelligence on Iraq, 07/11/04, Link
“That [the Phase II report] is basically on the back burner.”–Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), on Bush use of false intelligence on Iraq, 03/10/05,
Pat Roberts, (R-Horseshit) zero credibility, wouldn’t know the truth if it bit him on the ass.
Is THAT what they tacked on to the minimum wage bill?
If that’s the case, Jeb has it right. Nothing needs to be tacked onto that bill, if Roberts wants the childcare bill, introduce it on its own merits.
The minimum wage increase would do far more than this token provision.
Wait a second, I think I just figured this one out.
Daycares already get big tax deductions. Who does this bill really help?
The BIG BUSINESS, duh!
…Helps Small Business DUH!…His measure, which enjoys bipartisan support, would make small businesses eligible for matching grants of up to $500,000 for costs related to providing child care for employees….Political Mom slept through Reading is Fun on PBS…
Name me one small business who would even consider putting in a childcare in their facility.
Just one!
And we all know how big business gets loopholed into those breaks for small business so give me a break.
“Small businesses will be eligible for grants up to $500,000 for start-up costs, training, scholarships, or other related activities.”
Raise wages for workers by $2.15 over two years – give businesses a half million dollars.
Typical Republican plan – throw a bone to the workers, give the meat to the business.
Does anyone have a link to the bill itself? The press release and public reporting use the phrase “small business”. If possible, a definition of “small business” as used in the bill would be helpful.
As a small business person, the issue is almost always benefits when interviewing potential new employees. We frankly cannot afford most of the benefits our applicants are desiring. We, thus, find ourselves on the outside looking in with many well qualified individuals. The most desired benefit is, of course, health insurance; we can’t afford it, at least as the same is offered now.
…Political Mom wants a list of business for provisions of a law that has not passed yet…Fortune Teller services – Palms read, Future Events Told, Polls not taken yet predicted…
VT I thought you were a lawyer?
Hey, Chris from Crap Town–
Hang on to that opinion.
The vast majority of Americans aren’t buying it anymore.
They believe that government can create a better country to live in.
And they’re right.
But first we have to continue to crush your ilk in future elections like we did last time.
The era of “government haters” has come . . . and gone.
PMom: VT is a lawyer. He has a partner. That’s it. If that does not fit the definition of a small business, what does? Me, maybe. I don’t even have a partner — just a part-time secretary, who happens to be on post-surgery medical leave. Contrary to public perception, we can barely afford health insurance for ourselves and our families, let alone employees.
Yes, P_Mom, I am; not all lawyers in private practice make the “big bucks”, including me. When considering what a lawyer charges, please be aware that he/she doesn’t take home the gross from that; as with other businesses, we have our overhead to be paid, etc., with what’s left over at the end of the day being our compensation.
VT, rm – doesn’t the Bar have some group plans that help out?
Yes, Ben, to a small extent; however, the delta keeps shrinking. Let’s just say that the plan available to my spouse at her employment (paid for by us, primarily, under a 125 plan) is substantially less costly than that obtainable by me under the Bar plan.
Have you looked at those “high-deductible” plans?
I’m just wondering how many employees one could possibly have in a law office that would justify putting in a daycare.
The big law firms, yeah I could see that.
Even in the bigger law firms in Salina, I think the highest staff they have are maybe 20 people. I guess if three of them needed daycare it’d be worth it, but what happens when one of the kids goes off to school?
I’ll tell you where daycare is REALLY needed, in nursing homes, medical offices and hospitals, where the turnover is higher and more young women and single women work.
You get a two-fer on the nursing homes, the old people LOVE to see the little kids.
So I guess at least the medical offices might qualify for this kind of thing, right?
…Definition of Small Business…http://www.sba.gov/services/contractingopportunities/sizestandardstopics/size/index.html…
How about a sort of consortium in a building. Make day-care available to the tenants. That might give the critical mass.
VT, and I must say, what a sad sad sad state of affairs when a lawyer such as yourself cannot even afford to provide health insurance.
Are either of you supporters of universal healthcare?
Two somewhat related thoughts on this thread:
1. Child care, provided through a licensed child care provider with a Federal Tax ID Number, is already tax deductible.
2, My daughter, sans health insurance, just called and she had to take my 7 y/o grandson to the doctor this morning for a sinus infection. Office call = $100+/-, and Rx’s = $400+.
I came to the conclusion many years ago that the present system doesn’t work; universal healthcare is an option that must be considered.
I must say I didn’t go into the practice of law to make oodles of money; am succeeding beyond my wildest expectations, unfortunately.
We used to provide healthcare as a benefit to the employees, including the attorneys; had to drop it when the costs spiraled many years ago. Most of my small business clients have had the same experience; they would have their own plan, then join WIBA for eligibility for its plan, then drop it when it got too costly.
What the heck did they prescribe? I usually see maybe $20 for amoxicillin. He must have had a really nasty infection.
Let me tell you something about being poor and tax deductions. Rm.
THEY DO NOT HELP US. You actually have to pay the money out when you don’t have it.
Anyone with any medical knowledge can tell you, unless the kid had a drug resistant type of sinus infection, which is unlikely, the scripts could have been requested for a generic or older type of medication that would have worked just as well. Most of the time we don’t NEED 200 dollar antibiotics and a 200 dollar nose spray/antihistamine.
P, I’m thinking Dothead looks mighty familiar. : )
Speaking strictly for myself, I would certainly favor a “workable” universal health care plan, modeled after the current privatization option, as available now with Medicare. They’re still tweaking it, and will be doing so for the next few years, but, overall, it’s working much better than the “plain old Medicare”. Having introduced the competition between the private alternative companies and the available options, the consumer is getting more “bang for the buck” than they used to get.
Hmm. Could be. Dothead did’nt show up till AFTER the meetup.
When a routine sinus infection costs $400 to treat, isn’t that just a symptom of a current health care system that is not working?
But those with health insurance tend to blame the ones without health insurance as if it is their own fault. Something obviously needs to be done to fix the healthcare system or at least make it more affordable to more people. What we have now is not working but for those fortunate people with health insurance.
Are the uninsured people working but not making enough money to pay the healthcare insurance premium or because their employer doesn’t offer it? Then there are probably those that the insurance companies do not want to cover due to their health. What happens to those people who are the very people that need health care the most?
I don’t know what the answer is but we need to find some resolution to this issue. Isn’t healthcare costs one of the reasons employers give for not being competitive on the global market? Wouldn’t it be in the best interest of the entire country to have a healthy workforce?
If we can spend billions on a war, then why can’t we spend just as much on health care for everyone.
Ben: An antibiotic (don’t know which one), Albuterol and Advir inhalers and a decongestant (again, don’t know which one). The Advir alone was $220. She said she asked the doctor about generic equivalents and she (the dr.) said there weren’t any. Now you know as much as I do.
That’s it – the Advir. Definitely high-dollar. And no generics – that is the killer.
A lot of our “old-people” drugs (cholesterol for example) are also high-dollar.
For all practical purposes medical costs are not deductable. By the time you take the 7.5% haircut there isn’t anything left. That is why I like the ‘125′ type plans. At least then I get a tax reduction.
Lucee: There are people in both catagories — working but can’t afford coverage (very often young people with children who need it badly), and those whose companies don’t offer it. Group policies, where available, have to take everybody eligible for that group, but often have a pre-existing clause. So often, people with severe pre-existing conditions have to COBRA in their old insurance for a year or more at the same time they are paying for their new coverage, which is cost prohibitive. You’re right. We have a health care system that is NOT working satisfactorily at all.
And, like it or not, health care costs are higher than hell in part because the people with good insurance do end up paying for those with none. Medical practices and clinics and hospitals are profit oriented businesses, essentially managed not by health care professionals, for whom I have great respect, but “bean counters”.
Bottom line rm – we both hope he is OK.
So true rm “people with good insurance do end up paying for those with none”
And, to make matters worse, we pay it in the most expensive way imaginable.
Consider your grandson: Let the infection fester for another week or two. Then, when he is running 106 take him to the ER. THEN what does it end up costing?
An observation: I revies my bills as they go to the insurance. We get a discount of roughly 1/2 – on DR, lab, and Rx.
Thanks, Ben. I’m sure he’ll be fine. I just happen to have the receipts from my most recent (01/15/07) visit to Dillon’s Pharmacy, and this about 2/3 of my monthly Rx requirement. The “Everyday LOW Price” totals $889.59. Thank God, my co-pay was $41.34. If I didn’t have good insurance, I guess I would just have to die — because I sure as hell couldn’t afford to keep myself alive very long at that rate! :)
But when they go generic we get a BIG break. I’ll be getting at least one of mine at TArget for 8 bucks a month (double dose). WalMart started that one for us.
the antibiotic could be generic, and advair costs a lot and there is no generic. However, that is used to treat ASTHMA, not a sinus infection. My daughter uses advair, and she hates it, she’d rather use her rescue inhaler (which costs maybe 10 bucks if that). Sudafed is a good decongestant and I just bought some at 3$ a box.
These antihistamine nose sprays, I have to admit, they’re expensive but they WORK!
rm – something I remember from when I was a kid (my father was a DR) is that the drug companies encourage DRs to prescribe their newest and most expensive stuff.
I remember when “pain-in-butt” would get the crud we used generic amoxycillin and Ramen Noodle soup. Sleep for 16 hours and then he was fine – just make sure to finish the course of the Amox.
Wichi,I thought you were coming to the blog meeting. I checked out all the women, and you weren’t among them. What gives?
What would the price of drugs fall to if Congress voted to spend the additional $1B W is wanting for Iraq on drug research and subsidizing?
I wondered about the Advir, too, because my secretary uses it, as you say, for asthma. But, you don’t take your kid to doctor and the argue with him/her about what they tell you to do. Perhaps, we ought to sometimes, but, for the most part, we don’t. People go to lawyers all the time, spend good money, and then go out the door — completely ignore the advice they’ve just paid for, and do exactly what they had intended to do before they ever came in … and then wonder how their lives got turned upside down all of a sudden. Go figure.
I had a sinus infection 3-4 months ago, and it probably cost me $25: $20 office visit copay, and $5 copay for the drug.
If I had no insurance, it would have been $50 office visit and $20 drug.
Or I could have gone to Hunter Health Clinic or GraceMed and got the whole thing for about $10.
Be resourceful, people.
Ben: And, truth be known, I believe it should be a conflict of interest for doctors to have drug company stocks in their portfolio, but all the ones I know well enough to discuss that sort of thing with do and see nothing wrong with it.
Remember several years ago, when there was all of this outrage about doctors getting cruises, etc., from drug companies and it seemed you could “earn” these perks in proportion to the amount of the number of Rx’s you wrote for the newest “drug de jour”? There were going to be congressional investigations, blah, blah, blah. And then, it all just “went away”?
GNut: Why would a rich professional like yourself go to Hunter Health Clinic or Graceland? How could you, of all people, be income-qualified? Is that abusing the system or just outright lying about something … or both?
rm – does the little guy have eustacheon (sp?) tube problems? That might be why they did a bit of “overkill” on the symptomatic side.
rm, it’s a hypothetical situation for anyone – anyone RESOURCEFUL enough to DO something instead of whining about it.
“if I had no insurance” implies that I couldn’t afford it and would also imply that I had low income.
I’m sorry I didn’t spell it out completely – I didn’t think I had to.
I did some consulting work for a company in the late 90’s, and they were building a new plant. They have about 100 employees, and 90% of them are women. SO…the suggestion of having an in-plant daycare was made and addressed and approved!
The cost of building the daycare room, getting the license, providing the equipment, etc was all to be borne by the company, and the cost of staffing would be passed on to those employees that used the daycare.
To have a daycare staff of two, $10/hr ($12.50 with minimal benefits) resulted in a weekly cost of $1000 to be shared by about a dozen employees – $83/week.
Most of them could get good daycare for about $50-60 elsewhere, so the idea was dropped AFTER the company built the daycare and supplied it with toys. No one would sign up.
This legislation would cut the cost of providing daycare significantly – perhaps making it cost effective for small businesses.
Ben: Yes, he had “the tube deal”, whatever they call it, when he a about two — so that may be part of it. I had almost forgotten that until you mentioned it.GNut: Sorry ’bout that. My mind’s in about 4 places this afternoon & I should have picked up on that, I agree, but I didn’t. No offense intended.
GNut: I would have thought the convenience of having it “on-site” would have been worth the $20 or $30/week — obviously so did you and your client. Goes to show what we think we know, huh?
I see Mr. Big Mac came back without the little woman.You remember.That fiesty little feminine burger that said I was a terrible bore of a blogger? (or some crappola like that)
Thanks for the backup there JR.She didn’t stick around long enough for the evisceration!
We’ve got the Doc in a box where I work.Lots of babysitting going on, but it’s the unskilled labor that needs the sitters.
And, specifically relating to my daughter’s family, last year they made something like $117 annually too much to qualify for a lot of those “resources” out there. Don’t remember the exact amount, but it was incredibly insignificant. I know she tried to be “resourceful”.
rm, Golf’s story shows me that there is great price elasticity of demand for child care services.
rm64, believe me.Unless they are completely indegent,they don’t want help.It ain’t worth it.
Tracy: Point well taken. Besides, there’s always Dad, if push comes to shove. At least, that’s how she sees it. LOL.
If Golfnut only pays $50 for an office visit, then he must see the nurse practictioner or the P.A. and not the doctor. And $20 for the RX depends on the prescribed medication. Perhaps the young boy has had previous courses of Amoxicillin and it was not effective or maybe the infection was severe enough to warrant the big guns to clear it up once and for all.
None of us know the details because and we are all debating the details. What the point here is that RM’s daughter had to pay $400 for one visit to the doctor for her son’s sinus infection. God forbid if it was something more serious that required hospitalization. What do expect people to do without health insurance?
The last time I heard, when you go to Hunter Health Clinic, there is a waiting line down the block and they only take so many patients per day. If you happen to be at the cut-off spot in the line, then that’s just too bad. Has anyone else heard this?
I went to one of the free/reduced clinics when I wasn’t working. 2 kids, on only husband’s income, and I was OVER their income limit.
I said “how can we be over the income limit, that just doesn’t make any sense”
My husband made 12 dollars an hour, figure that one out.
At my job, all office visits are free for employees and their immediate families.
Vaughn: See, there are actually a few benefits (very few) to growing old. At least, child care is not one of things we have to worry about anymore! I can’t think of any others though.
P_Mom, the income limit for those services is generally set at some per centage of the so-called “poverty level” income. Since I don’t know the year, nor do I know the entity involved and its policies, I cannot comment further; but, I suggest that at that time, your family was likely over the limit, as hard as it might be to believe.
rm, thank goodness child care is no longer an issue for us; I shudder to think…
PMom: That is incredible. I don’t know what they made this year, but last year, it was about $30K, give or take a couple hundred bucks. They’ll have insurance February 1, thank God. There was like a 6 month waiting period with his new job, and they couldn’t afford to COBRA his insurance from his previous job.
Actually I only pay 55 dollars for to see my doctors for a minor office visit too, without insurance.
But that’s just to walk in the door.
And yes, you CAN discuss with your doctor ways to reduce the costs of your treatment.
When they prescribe labs, ask which ones are truly necessary. If they want a MRI, ask if a CT will work just as well. Ask them and they will tell you why they prefer one method over the other for your condition, many times they’ll say they simply get better detail.
Ask what medications will work just as good. Yes, RM, you SHOULD be the owner of your body and not your doctor. You SHOULD be proactive. I am. Ask anyone in the medical field. Most docs will listen to you.
Now on antibiotics, unless they culture you, most of the time they’re just treating a broad spectrum type infection, and almost any antibiotic will do. Some though, are more likely to be (I can’t remember if it’s gram + or gram -) bacteria, and one is a better fit for treating those kind of infections. So don’t just assume that amoxicillan will cure everything, it won’t. For most infections, the cheap, lower cost are just as good. And don’t forget to take ALL of the prescription, never stop, or hoard the pills when you are feeling better.
And then we’ve got the fungi, the viruses, the parasitic infections, that no antibiotic will cure.
rm,I agree with the “convenience factor” in having my child at a daycare where I could have lunch with him, immediately tend to an emergency, etc. But some aren’t so long-sighted.
Lucy,I really don’t know that an office visit costs. I was speculating.
Thank god my employer offers health insurance – while it may be a strain to my budget, it is cheaper and I pay for it because I can’t imagine not having health insurance for my son. Child care on the other hand, they do not have, and we have several offices throughout the city so many people could utilize child care. In my office alone, we have at least 15 children who are younger than school age respectively. And let me tell you, as far as I am concerned, $83 would be a bargain – granted, I pay slightly over that now, but only because my daycare provider is sympathatic to my situation…
rm, golfer – I wonder how much difference in quality there might have been. I suspect the employer was trying to do a first-class operation; better provider/kid ratio etc.
I had a similar situation as PMom. I had just delivered my oldest daughter. I didn’t have near the time off accumulated that I needed. Hubby was working a commission only job and was having health problems and was unable to work. We desperately needed help. I applied for WIC (assistance provided by the state for pregnant women, infants and small children). I had a full time job that paid under $10/hour. Household income was barely under the maximum and we qualified for the least amount of assistance. If I had made 25 cents more an hour we would not have qualified.The groceries that this bought us provided our existence until I was recovered enough to return to work. After I had been at work for a few months the assistance was revoked because I made too much money.
I am lucky that my Mom watches my kids for me. If daycare expenses were an issue – hubby would have to stay home to watch them. (My job has the medical insurance that we need)
Julie,I can completely relate. For about 3 years, we had two kids in daycare – the cost of which was about $750/mo…more than our mortgage.
Julie,
I also tried to apply for WIC when I was pregnant with my son. I made $250 a year too much to qualify. Apparently, according to the government, it only costs $250 a year to raise a child… Had I had twins, I could have qualified for assistance, but I would probably be locked up in a mental institution by now… Oh the beauty of the system… Luckily for me, in another year, things won’t be quite so rough…
Wendy – are you saying twins would drive a person nuts? I have twins …
;^)
Ben,That explains everything!
=)
VT, have you and other law offices ever thought of doing a coop kind of daycare?
Ben,
not necessarily. However, as a single mother, I would have to say there is a high likelihood that i would have gone insane. Trying to take care of ONE newborn on your own while recovering from a C Section was more than enough – can’t imagine trying to do it with two… Now, if there was a partner in the picture to help with things, I would imagine the experience would be quite different :) Although, with my son currently entrenched in the terrible two’s, I have to say, I am surprised you made it through two at once :) Always thought I wanted twins until I had one… I don’t suffer under that illusion anymore :)
PMom: I know you didn’t ask me, but I’m going to comment anyway. As an analogy, a couple (who’ve been married for around 40 years and are both Native American) commented to me when everything was going to hell in a hand basket at the Mid American Indian Center that the problem with having Native Americans running the place was everybody on the Board wanted to be the Chief, and nobody wanted to be the Indians. It was humorous, but it was not meant as a joke. Now multiply that concept exponentiallyby the power of 100, of a unrelated group of lawyers setting up a cooperative daycare. In the first place, the children would be grown with children of their own before the paperwork establishing the basic preliminary “agreement in principal” could be agreed upon, and several more years before actual corporate filing, and the concept of not-for-profit would have long since been kicked to the curb, and so on and so forth. It would be like the “homeowners’ association from hell”!!!
P_Mom, regarding the day care thing; rm hits it on the head!
LOL that’s really too bad.
rm – the key is to allow the only competant people in the offices do it.
THE SECRETARIES! Hell, they, the paras, and the sys admins are the ones running the offices anyway! They could so easily just erase your existence …
Yep! :)
If they ever figure out that they can get one of those machines (like the President has) that “signs” documents, we’re screwed.
hehehe …
GOTCHA! Maybe my computer geek can take care of that for them!
“Child care, provided through a licensed child care provider with a Federal Tax ID Number, is already tax deductible.”
rm, the law was changed to include family members who you pay for daily child care. I take care of my 3 grandkids, am not licensed, and both daughters are able to deduct, as long as the correct paper work is done. And even it isn’t sent in to the IRS, but kept for reference, just in case.
The childcare for my grandkids is considered a “business” to the IRS. I keep a log of payments I receive. Since I screwed up the amounts for childcare income on my original tax forms last year (long, dumb story), I had to file an ammended return and had no problem.
Really? Good. I stand corrected. Luckily, my daughter decided to be a “stay at home Mom’ until the youngest is in school (3 more years), so let’s not tell her until then. :)
rox is correct. As long as she makes sure her Schedule C (presumably) reflects all her income. Of course, that opens up LOTS of deductions for her.
Hey rm; I wonder how long we can run your practice by just filing forms etc after you are “gone” …
;^)
Forever, my friend, and probably much more effectively and efficiently. All you need it that machine we were discussing earlier.:)
We already have it installed … it was nice knowing you!
Ben,
I file 3 Schedule Cs, one for each business. Fun, huh? I don’t get to figure the standard deduction for childcare the way licensed daycare workers do though, and it’s a pain to keep track of the food purchases to feed the little ones, but that’s okay. One of my d’s just tallied up what she paid me last year, and her eyes bugged out. I reminded her that it was a deduction and that she should be lucky she’s not paying a daycare center for 2 kids. ;)
Yep, they can be fun filling out the forms. I have just about every schedule imaginable plus a 1065 to do. Lots of fun stuff.
You are correct that childcare is deductible, but there is a limit of I believe $5,000 that you can deduct. I know that sounds like a lot but figure it this way – If I pay, say $95 a week for childcare, 52 weeks a year that is $4,940. Typical costs for an infant in childcare is between $100-$200 PER WEEK (I checked SEVERAL PLACES ON THIS) Say you have two children in daycare, and infant and a toddler – let’s say you pay $125 a week for the infant and $75 a week for the toddler – you are paying $10,400 per year for child care and can only deduct HALF of that from your taxes… and look at that dollar figure – if you are making minimum wage, basically ALL of your take home income is going to pay for childcare – is it any wonder why we have so many people on welfare?
Wendy – actually you can get a credit (Form 2441) of up to 35% of the cost. And, if you are at the minimum wage area you can get direct assistence to subsidize child care.
The nice thing about a credit is that it is worth so much more than a deduction; especially at low income levels.
Ben,
Unfortunately, I am not considered “low – income” I have tried to get assistance. It’s crazy to me that I am not considered low income, when, come tax time, after my STANDARD deductions, my taxable income is BELOW poverty level… but hey, it is what it is I suppose. Maybe I should just quit my job and go on welfare and stay home with my son – I’d probably be bringing in about the same amount of income… (that was sarcasm for those of you that missed it… )
Wendy,
I see what you’re getting at. Now you know why I’m the one providing childcare for my g-kids. The cost of daycare was prohibitive for my daughters. (One has one who will start school in the fall, the other has two, a four-year-old and a two-year-old.) And since neither pay me anywhere near the limit, they don’t have to worry.
It’s a jungle out there.
Employer provided daycare has been ‘in the works’ for a couple of decades, yet it has, for the most party, not gone anywhere. I doubt anything Roberts does (and YES, this should be a separate bill, as should everything).
Remember the movie, 9 to 5?
Males should be allowed to go shirtless at home only – Or vary with places for another persuasive speech topic
We are killing the rainforest
Agree with a flat tax system
I haven’t been up to much recently, but whatever. I just don’t have much to say lately. Basically nothing happening to speak of. So it goes. My mind is like a complete blank. Such is life.
Blame the parents of a murderer parents for the crime
Sex offenders should be, should not be castrated
An integrated, segregated society is better
The change of our climate is, is not natural
I haven’t gotten anything done lately. Not much on my mind recently. I just don’t have much to say right now. My mind is like an empty room.