Families Are Drowning in Care Costs. Here’s How To Change That.

The episode explores the care crisis in America, focusing on the unsustainable nature of relying on unpaid or underpaid women for care work. Ai-jen Poo, a leading advocate for caregivers, discusses how the lack of comprehensive family policies hurts everyone, not just care workers and families. She argues for viewing care as essential infrastructure, akin to bridges and roads, necessary for a functioning economy. Poo highlights the Build Back Better Act as a transformative investment that could expand access to home care services, raise wages for care workers, and provide universal pre-K. The conversation also touches on the historical exclusion of domestic workers from labor protections and the need to shift societal values to recognize the economic value of care work.