Sanders: Wealth Tax for Child Care     02/24 06:20

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bernie Sanders has joined fellow progressive Elizabeth 
Warren in proposing that a "wealth tax" can fiance government-funded child care 
from infancy through age 3 for every American family, then provide universal 
pre-kindergarten programs after that. 

   Fresh off his win in Nevada, the Vermont senator called the nation's child 
care and early education "an international embarrassment" while unveiling a 
plan Monday that he said would fix it. His proposal would provide a minimum of 
10 hours of daily child care, even for parents who work non-traditional 
schedules. 

   Sanders previously proposed an annual wealth tax starting at 1% on 
households worth $32 million or more and increasing to 8% on fortunes of at 
least $10 billion. 

   That's more ambitious than Warren's signature wealth tax, which kicks in on 
fortunes worth $50-plus million and would also fund universal child care. 

   Warren, a Massachusetts senator, and other presidential hopefuls have 
similarly proposed universal child care and pre-kindergarten. Sanders says the 
federal government will impose quality standards for his pre-kindergarten 
program, including minimum child-to-adult ratios and minimum wages for workers. 
 


(KR)