[ti:Child Care ‘Crisis’ Slows US Economy] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Because of the COVID-19 health crisis, [00:03.44]many American parents are having a difficult time [00:07.64]balancing the needs of their children and work responsibilities. [00:13.88]That is because many childcare centers [00:17.44]in the United States have closed. [00:21.20]The ones that remain open [00:23.56]have limited spaces for additional children. [00:28.84]Media reports say the problem is "a national crisis." [00:35.44]The Associated Press (AP) notes that President Joe Biden [00:41.76]is trying to include a "burst" of spending [00:46.32]on children in the $1.9 trillion spending bill [00:52.56]being considered by the U.S. Congress. [00:56.52]The Biden administration has said [00:59.60]it does not want parents to spend [01:02.60]more than seven percent of their income on childcare costs. [01:09.28]The administration also wants pre-school [01:13.04]for very young children to be available to every family. [01:19.20]Betsey Stevenson is an economist at the University of Michigan. [01:25.00]She said a change in the availability of childcare [01:28.68]will make a difference in the U.S. economy for many years. [01:33.72]She said it will do this by "influencing who returns to work, [01:40.08]what types of jobs parents take [01:43.24]and the career path they are able to follow." [01:48.16]One of those parents is Bryan Kang of Los Angeles. [01:53.28]He used to work as a therapist, teaching people [01:57.40]how to physically recover from injuries or sickness. [02:02.60]When he and his wife had a baby in July, [02:06.16]he found that childcare centers were full. [02:11.56]Without someone to take care of the baby, [02:14.72]he could no longer leave home for work. [02:18.80]He needed a job he could do from home. [02:22.48]His new job permits him to teach at home using his computer, [02:29.48]but he earns less money than before. [02:33.12]Even if he had found a place for his baby, [02:37.80]it would have been too costly. [02:41.40]So for him to work from home was a better choice. [02:48.00]Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen [02:51.40]has called the childcare business "broken," [02:55.48]because it is too costly for parents. [03:01.20]But workers who take care of children [03:04.12]also are not paid very much. [03:08.48]Right now, many childcare workers are looking for new jobs. [03:14.16]Some workers are now earning two times their former pay [03:19.36]at new workplaces. [03:22.44]The people who own childcare businesses [03:25.04]cannot pay enough to replace them. [03:29.00]Amy McCoy owns a childcare business [03:32.40]called Forever Young Daycare near Seattle, Washington. [03:38.80]She is getting tired of doing several jobs [03:41.96]because some of her employees stopped working. [03:47.52]"Nobody wants to work [03:49.28]for what I can afford to pay right now," McCoy said. [03:54.20]She thinks parents will have to face higher costs [03:59.00]so she can raise the pay for new workers. [04:04.32]The U.S. Treasury Department reported in September [04:08.52]that many childcare workers are poor, [04:12.28]earning less than $25,000 a year. [04:17.44]At the same time, childcare businesses [04:21.44]do not make much money for their owners. [04:25.84]Briana McFadden used to run a childcare business in Washington. [04:31.16]She closed it last month after 12 years. [04:36.12]She thinks she would have stayed open [04:39.56]if she got money from the government. [04:43.60]"It really wasn't worth it to continue," she said. [04:48.32]She plans to start a new business – a small store. [04:54.72]Biden is still trying to find support [04:58.60]for the spending bill from U.S. lawmakers. [05:03.32]And it is not clear if his plan [05:06.20]to support children and families will be included [05:09.88]in the final spending bill. [05:13.64]Donald Schneider is an economics expert [05:17.40]who once worked for the U.S. Congress. [05:21.56]He said he thinks the help for children and childcare [05:26.28]will cost about $465 billion over 10 years if it is approved. [05:34.64]I'm Dan Friedell. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM