Re:As child care costs soar, more parents may have to exit t...
by johnnyanmac on Friday November 03, 2023 @05:38AM
(#38126388)
>Why isn't the Free Market providing it then?
Like the above comment said, you don't just want anyone watching your very young kid. So minimum wage 18 year old who maybe changed one diaper won't suffice. But sadly, actual caretakers aren't much more well compensated.
But let's do the math on Meanswell Bob anyway. Someone working $10/hour full time will be paid $1600 raw. if they can take care of 3 kids and have some extra payment for overhead (not even profit), we're talking $600/family to pay out, before they even profit. raise it to $1000 and we get $1000 profit per month. Parents feel like they are paying way too much and the caretaker isn't making minimum wage in profit, while taking care of 3 kids they don't care about.
$1000/month is great as a side gig, but this is a) a full time job that b) can't be automated easily and c) requires a high level of trust (i.e. experience and initial capital). Bob here either needs to take care of even more kids (possibly illegally, since there are regulations for this) or charge the parents even more just to make ends meet.
Like the above comment said, you don't just want anyone watching your very young kid. So minimum wage 18 year old who maybe changed one diaper won't suffice. But sadly, actual caretakers aren't much more well compensated.
But let's do the math on Meanswell Bob anyway. Someone working $10/hour full time will be paid $1600 raw. if they can take care of 3 kids and have some extra payment for overhead (not even profit), we're talking $600/family to pay out, before they even profit. raise it to $1000 and we get $1000 profit per month. Parents feel like they are paying way too much and the caretaker isn't making minimum wage in profit, while taking care of 3 kids they don't care about.
$1000/month is great as a side gig, but this is a) a full time job that b) can't be automated easily and c) requires a high level of trust (i.e. experience and initial capital). Bob here either needs to take care of even more kids (possibly illegally, since there are regulations for this) or charge the parents even more just to make ends meet.