2 Jan 2026 1:02 pm
Billions for Higher Crime and Mental Troubles
All the other gold-standard evaluations of preschool and daycare programs find the same: billions spent for no or even worse outcomes. A birth-to-school universal childcare program in Quebec — exactly the kind of program Democrats keep demanding — has led to higher anxiety, lower school performance, worse behavior, and higher crime rates. Similar findings have arisen in Sweden and in U.S. studies.
The “highest-quality” state preschool programs show any of very limited academic benefits to kids fade out by about third grade. Some even lead to declines in academic achievement. This means all those tax dollars are wasted, too — if the goal is to benefit children and society, of course. As scams to launder taxpayer money to Democrat organizers, they are very effective!
As with apparently every federal program, Head Start has shockingly high rates of unlawful fraud. A 2020 Heritage Foundation report notes federal investigators found in 2019 that one-third of Head Start providers they probed potentially committed enrollment fraud — meaning, offered to enroll children who did not qualify. In some cases, preschool staff appeared to have falsified or hid information showing applicants were ineligible, presumably so they could fraudulently obtain taxpayer funding: “More than half of the tested Head Start centers failed to identify ineligible families.”
Mother Wounds Are Real and Significant
Most troublingly of all, research and common sense observe that separating small children from their families for many hours a week induces worse outcomes for them and therefore all of us. Thanks to taxpayer-provided daycare and preschool, we literally appear to be paying billions to increase mental and physical health problems, violence, poor school performance, and crime.
This is in large part because children separated from their mothers are stressed by the separation, as anyone who has ever babysat a small child knows. The longer littles miss mother, the more agitated and sad they get, even when they are with a kind, capable, and attentive caregiver. It’s fine, even good practice, if little ones miss mama for a few hours occasionally. Mother comes back soon, and they repair their bond. But if the stress is chronic, as in every weekday, it risks long-lasting emotional and physical health problems. Those we all pay for.
All the other gold-standard evaluations of preschool and daycare programs find the same: billions spent for no or even worse outcomes. A birth-to-school universal childcare program in Quebec — exactly the kind of program Democrats keep demanding — has led to higher anxiety, lower school performance, worse behavior, and higher crime rates. Similar findings have arisen in Sweden and in U.S. studies.
The “highest-quality” state preschool programs show any of very limited academic benefits to kids fade out by about third grade. Some even lead to declines in academic achievement. This means all those tax dollars are wasted, too — if the goal is to benefit children and society, of course. As scams to launder taxpayer money to Democrat organizers, they are very effective!
As with apparently every federal program, Head Start has shockingly high rates of unlawful fraud. A 2020 Heritage Foundation report notes federal investigators found in 2019 that one-third of Head Start providers they probed potentially committed enrollment fraud — meaning, offered to enroll children who did not qualify. In some cases, preschool staff appeared to have falsified or hid information showing applicants were ineligible, presumably so they could fraudulently obtain taxpayer funding: “More than half of the tested Head Start centers failed to identify ineligible families.”
Mother Wounds Are Real and Significant
Most troublingly of all, research and common sense observe that separating small children from their families for many hours a week induces worse outcomes for them and therefore all of us. Thanks to taxpayer-provided daycare and preschool, we literally appear to be paying billions to increase mental and physical health problems, violence, poor school performance, and crime.
This is in large part because children separated from their mothers are stressed by the separation, as anyone who has ever babysat a small child knows. The longer littles miss mother, the more agitated and sad they get, even when they are with a kind, capable, and attentive caregiver. It’s fine, even good practice, if little ones miss mama for a few hours occasionally. Mother comes back soon, and they repair their bond. But if the stress is chronic, as in every weekday, it risks long-lasting emotional and physical health problems. Those we all pay for.