WEBVTT - COVID, Alcohol Consumption, and Childcare Costs 0:00:01.280 --> 0:00:05.119 You're listening to the Bloomberg Opinion podcast count US Saturdays 0:00:05.120 --> 0:00:08.280 at one and seven pm Eastern on Bloomberg dot Com, 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:11.479 the iHeartRadio app, and the Bloomberg Business App, or listen 0:00:11.520 --> 0:00:13.760 on demand wherever you get your podcasts. 0:00:15.600 --> 0:00:19.320 Welcome the Bloomberg Opinion. I'm Amy Morris. This week we 0:00:19.360 --> 0:00:22.919 look at childcare, a consistent issue for working parents, but 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:27.120 it's about to get much, much worse, and nobody seems 0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:30.040 to be doing anything about it. We're also seeing new 0:00:30.120 --> 0:00:33.200 numbers that show more women in the US are dying 0:00:33.680 --> 0:00:38.360 from alcohol. Those numbers are alarmingly high and a sure 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:41.519 fire way to lure your employees back to the office. 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:44.880 Feed them, but not just any meals, and not in 0:00:44.960 --> 0:00:47.680 the office or at their desks. But we begin with 0:00:47.720 --> 0:00:50.840 the latest on COVID and how the world maybe should 0:00:50.840 --> 0:00:54.240 respond to this latest uptick. Take New York, for example, 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:57.520 where earlier this month the summer surge prompted New York 0:00:57.520 --> 0:01:00.840 health officials to warn the public about an uptick in 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:05.000 COVID cases. New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Wassan says 0:01:05.200 --> 0:01:08.680 it's not unexpected, but everyone does need to be aware. 0:01:09.240 --> 0:01:12.080 It's been a while since New Yorkers were getting vaccinated 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:15.320 and boosted on mass immunity is waning. 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:19.080 Science is working to keep up, though the FDA recently 0:01:19.120 --> 0:01:22.440 approved a formula for another booster that is expected to 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:26.039 protect against the new dominant strain. Plus RSV and the 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:29.720 flu are also close behind, so getting the right message 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:33.280 to vulnerable populations may be key this fall. Let's bring 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:37.120 in Bloomberg Opinion editor Brooks Sample brook. First, we want 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:40.880 to explain your role here. You put together a digest 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:44.200 of the top Bloomberg Opinion columns and you put them 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:47.319 together in a newsletter that's available every week, totally worth 0:01:47.360 --> 0:01:51.280 signing up for. And this angle on COVID is actually 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:54.080 included in the Theme of the Week newsletter. So before 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:56.160 we jump into the COVID part of it, tell us 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:58.480 about this newsletter really quick and your role there. 0:01:59.360 --> 0:01:59.520 Hi. 0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:04.360 So on the weekends, on Saturdays, we do Bloomberg Opinion's 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:08.680 most popular columns, a bit of a roundup and a 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:12.440 little bit about some of the podcasts and other things 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:14.919 that we have been taken throughout the week. And then 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:18.040 on Sundays is our Theme of the Week, where we 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:21.200 pick one of our best topics from the week. Things 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:25.200 that we're starting to talk about more in depth. So 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:27.520 you know a lot of times it's based on the news, 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:31.800 such as an election or as in this case, you 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:35.520 know COVID, which is starting to hit our headlines again. 0:02:36.280 --> 0:02:39.440 So we go back through the week and hit our 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:43.799 columnists that are very smart analysts who are looking at 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:46.560 COVID the numbers, and we decided, well, that's our theme 0:02:46.600 --> 0:02:47.280 for this week. 0:02:47.639 --> 0:02:49.880 All right, Well, knowing all of that about the newsletter, 0:02:49.960 --> 0:02:53.320 let's get into the topic, which is COVID. You said 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:55.400 that you've been seeing it pop up more in the 0:02:55.400 --> 0:02:58.640 headlines here at Bloomberg. What is the prognosis for another 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:00.400 COVID surge? What do we need to watch for? 0:03:01.160 --> 0:03:04.640 So a lot of analysts have been looking over the 0:03:04.720 --> 0:03:10.399 past year at wastewater numbers, and you can see epidemiologists 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:14.200 have been noticing, especially in New York City, which is 0:03:14.320 --> 0:03:17.320 very good at tracking viruses that it finds in wastewater. 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:20.920 So people have been paying attention to that. And while 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:23.520 we don't get the data that we got the first 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:28.160 couple of years of COVID, there are more hospitalizations happening 0:03:28.240 --> 0:03:32.519 right now. They are happening more among children, and what 0:03:32.840 --> 0:03:37.920 our experts Lisa Jarvis and Fay Lamb are noticing, is 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:40.160 you know, on top of the fact that you know 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:44.360 RSV and flu came back later in the epidemic. You know, 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:46.840 it disappeared the first year because we were so focused 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:51.000 on COVID and because we were isolated, that helped keep 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:54.600 those two extra viruses at bay. Well now they're back. 0:03:55.200 --> 0:04:00.000 And last year, as Faan Lisa pointed out, the message 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:05.000 from public health officials was not always clear, so people 0:04:05.120 --> 0:04:09.400 kind of I wouldn't say gave up, but it was 0:04:09.480 --> 0:04:13.440 easier to not do anything and not get your shots. 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:17.760 So vaccine uptake last year was not that great, especially 0:04:17.839 --> 0:04:20.440 when you were thrown Well then you should be aware 0:04:20.440 --> 0:04:23.000 of RSV. You don't forget your flu shot? Okay, when 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:24.720 am I supposed to do all these things? There are 0:04:24.720 --> 0:04:30.679 so many rules and that exhausted people. It is surging again. 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:36.640 It's this new variant Heiress. But thankfully it seems that 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:39.400 the prognis was for that. It's not any more dangerous 0:04:39.960 --> 0:04:44.479 than previous variants. And what public health officials need to 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:49.960 worry about is getting a more lucid message out there 0:04:49.960 --> 0:04:52.200 to people so that people will listen. 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:54.520 Well, that's what I wanted to ask about. Also, you 0:04:54.520 --> 0:04:58.080 would mention fay Flam's column and the lack of control 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:00.960 over the pandemic. You mentioned that the newsletter as well. 0:05:01.040 --> 0:05:03.520 Is that what you're referring to is that the messaging 0:05:03.680 --> 0:05:04.400 is just off. 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:08.280 The messaging is off, absolutely, and you know, and that's 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:12.279 not necessarily, you know, anybody's fault. You know, this is 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:15.400 still it is a novel virus and we're only a 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:18.440 few years into this. We don't know, we're still learning 0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:21.640 about you know what you know about things about long COVID, 0:05:21.800 --> 0:05:25.280 you know, when to get these vaccines, just how effective 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:27.800 are the vaccines. And the whole point was always to 0:05:28.040 --> 0:05:31.480 mitigate when people did get sick, which, of course, you know, 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:33.240 lots of people say, oh, well, you're not supposed to 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:35.200 get it. No, it's supposed to mitigate when you do 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:39.360 get it, things like isolation that was meant to not 0:05:39.600 --> 0:05:44.320 path spread it around to the vulnerable populations. So that 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:47.360 message needs to be a little bit clearer, it needs 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:51.960 to get to people more effectively. Uh. And that's you know, 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:54.120 it's it's all about making things simpler. 0:05:54.480 --> 0:05:56.800 Now, Brooke, reiterate for us, if you don't mind, When 0:05:56.839 --> 0:05:59.320 should we be getting our next COVID booster. 0:06:00.960 --> 0:06:05.120 When you can. That is the simple message. Get your vaccines, 0:06:05.520 --> 0:06:08.560 get your boosters, your flu. The RSP is a new 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:10.760 vaccine this year, Get them when you can. 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:14.159 Is there a risk of getting it too early and 0:06:14.200 --> 0:06:16.799 then the effect wearing off? 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:21.440 Some people say that, But that is mostly the fear, 0:06:21.640 --> 0:06:23.640 you know, especially you know we are more in a 0:06:23.720 --> 0:06:28.279 more anti vaxx era, so which you know that those 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:32.159 voices are, you know, they're definitely loud. But doctor say, 0:06:32.480 --> 0:06:34.480 get your shots when you can. 0:06:34.800 --> 0:06:43.520 Okay, all right, well taken. There are those who believe 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:46.640 that COVID is really essentially over. You don't see a 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:49.600 whole lot of people walking around in masks anymore. Every 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:52.279 so often, either a grocery store or some other public 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:55.760 event or venue, you might see some folks in masks. 0:06:55.760 --> 0:07:00.440 But once people stopped masking up, it seems like it 0:07:00.520 --> 0:07:02.919 was going to be really hard to get them to 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:07.160 start masking up again. Is that a challenge that we're 0:07:07.160 --> 0:07:09.279 going to be looking at this winter and follow Are 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:09.880 we past that? 0:07:10.800 --> 0:07:15.320 I My personal feeling is that, you know, we might 0:07:15.520 --> 0:07:19.360 be we might have already passed that point. Now, it's 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:22.559 funny you mentioned that I was out, like for somebody 0:07:22.600 --> 0:07:27.200 who isolated very very carefully, you know. The first couple 0:07:27.240 --> 0:07:29.600 of years, I was at Radio City Music Hall over 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:33.480 the weekend, and obviously most people weren't masked, but I 0:07:33.520 --> 0:07:37.080 saw a lot more masks than I expected. So I 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:40.960 think I can't tell if that's simply a New York thing. Uh, 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:43.800 you know, certainly in you know, the more Midwest states. 0:07:43.840 --> 0:07:45.280 You know, I'm not You're not going to see that. 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:49.920 People just are They're done with it. So you know, 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:52.960 obviously a mask is always good, but I don't I 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:56.040 think we're past that. People are tired of it, so 0:07:56.600 --> 0:07:59.120 you know, that's what makes the vaccines more important. 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:01.960 Well, I wanted to follow up with that. I love 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:05.040 it when the guest anticipates my question because everyone is 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:08.080 sick of it, even those who believe in the boosters 0:08:08.120 --> 0:08:10.560 and don't have a problem masking, but we're all so 0:08:11.000 --> 0:08:15.320 tired of it. Pandemic pandemic fatigue is real. 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:16.600 It is real. 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:18.880 So what's the guidance? How do we get around that? 0:08:19.960 --> 0:08:23.280 You know, I it's it's it can be really hard 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:28.160 when we are just bombarded with information, you know, on 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:32.000 a daily basis, you know, not just cable news, not 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:34.960 you know, not just Twitter, which is you know, takes 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:38.160 a weird turn every other day, not just you know, 0:08:38.240 --> 0:08:41.319 Facebook or threads or wherever. You know, we are bombarded 0:08:41.880 --> 0:08:46.480 and it's really hard to figure out where the reasonable 0:08:47.360 --> 0:08:52.120 and right voices are when you have so much misinformation 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:55.240 out there. So you know, and I you know as 0:08:55.240 --> 0:08:57.200 a media person that this is you know, maybe not 0:08:57.280 --> 0:08:59.640 my favorite thing to say, but you know, you know, 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:04.640 but go on a media diet, figure out which foods, 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:09.240 which sources are good for you. You know, which are actual, meaningful, 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:13.439 data based voices. You know, obviously you know Bloomberg's whole thing. 0:09:13.480 --> 0:09:14.079 We are data. 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:17.120 That is you know what we do. We're not going 0:09:17.120 --> 0:09:19.520 to be pushing anything that doesn't have the numbers behind it. 0:09:20.000 --> 0:09:22.160 So you know, that's why you know, Lisa and Fay 0:09:22.200 --> 0:09:26.200 are so important because they use data and and even 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:29.520 then you know, they they see just how tired we are. 0:09:30.280 --> 0:09:34.560 So that's why you know, they say, simple, simple messaging. 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:37.760 You know, that's what we need. We don't need, you know, 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:40.079 the CDC telling us one thing one day and then 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:42.840 oh they got new information, now they tell us another thing. 0:09:42.920 --> 0:09:44.720 That's the only thing the CDC is doing They're dealing 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:47.520 with data as it comes, so that can be hard. 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:53.160 So take a deep breath, get the simple message, get 0:09:53.160 --> 0:09:57.000 your vaccine when you can, and realize COVID is not over. 0:09:57.280 --> 0:09:59.160 You know, we are going to be with it forever. 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:02.720 I wanted to ask where the CDC is with this. 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:05.480 You may have just answered that that they're going to 0:10:05.520 --> 0:10:08.280 be giving you messages as they get the data. Are 0:10:08.280 --> 0:10:10.640 we anticipating fresh messages coming up in the fall? 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:17.600 I would imagine so, especially with the triple deemic, which is. 0:10:17.800 --> 0:10:20.080 Triple demic sounds wait, hold, let me just stop you 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:23.280 for a second. That sounds so dag scary. But I 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:25.400 know what you mean. You're talking about the flu, RSV 0:10:25.520 --> 0:10:28.319 and COVID, but it does sound really intimidating. 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:32.679 And it is, especially when you know my son and 0:10:32.720 --> 0:10:36.319 I each got the flu last year and I managed 0:10:36.320 --> 0:10:38.760 to get COVID for a third time last year, and 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:42.240 it's like, well, you know, I'm just physically exhausted. So 0:10:42.480 --> 0:10:44.320 I have learned. I'm getting it as soon as it 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:45.160 comes out this year. 0:10:45.559 --> 0:10:48.400 Bloomberg Opinion editor Brooks Sample. You can sign up for 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:51.640 that newsletter, by the way, at Bloomberg dot com. Slash Opinion. 0:10:51.800 --> 0:10:54.640 Now coming up, we'll look at a perennial problem for 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:59.800 working parents, available affordable childcare. They just could be coming. 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:03.160 Got a heads up for you. You're listening to Bloomberg Opinion. 0:11:11.800 --> 0:11:15.599 You're listening to the Bloomberg Opinion podcast. Catch us Saturdays 0:11:15.640 --> 0:11:18.800 at one and seven pm Eastern on Bloomberg dot com, 0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:21.960 the iHeartRadio app and the Bloomberg Business app, or listen 0:11:22.040 --> 0:11:24.280 on demand wherever you get your podcasts. 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:29.320 You're listening the Bloomberg Opinion. I'm maybe Morris and as 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:32.600 summer comes to an end, summer camp is also ending. 0:11:32.679 --> 0:11:35.920 Parents are now on the hunt for more childcare arrangements. 0:11:36.440 --> 0:11:39.520 This has always been a challenge. This is nothing new, 0:11:39.600 --> 0:11:43.320 but things may be about to get much worse. Bloomberg 0:11:43.320 --> 0:11:46.920 Opinion columnist and labor economist Katherine Edwards joins us Now 0:11:47.080 --> 0:11:49.559 and Catherine, you have referred to this in your column 0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:53.720 on the Bloomberg Terminal as an economic calamity that is approaching. 0:11:53.880 --> 0:11:55.080 How bad can this get? 0:11:55.800 --> 0:11:59.720 We don't know because we've never done this before. During 0:11:59.720 --> 0:12:03.640 the pandemic, a lot of industries were in trouble because 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:06.599 of the unique concerns of the pandemic, and so we 0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:07.520 helped them, right. 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:08.080 We helped the. 0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:11.240 Shipping and logistics industry. We helped the airline industry. We 0:12:11.320 --> 0:12:16.080 also helped the childcare industry. And unlike say airlines were shipping, 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:20.520 the childcare industry was not functioning well before the pandemic began. 0:12:20.679 --> 0:12:22.840 It has been a failure of a business model and 0:12:22.920 --> 0:12:26.960 market failure for a long time. And so the government 0:12:27.440 --> 0:12:29.920 came in to help prop up this industry. And those 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:32.400 funds are about to run dry, and all of the 0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:35.839 problems that were there before it started are still there. 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:38.960 So the economic calamity that I'm referring to is that 0:12:39.040 --> 0:12:43.160 on September thirtieth, the final remaining American Rescue Plan funds 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:46.520 that have been propping up the childcare sector are expiring. 0:12:46.600 --> 0:12:49.320 It has reached over eighty percent of providers and nearly 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:53.920 ten million children, And it's a figot. It's turning off. 0:12:54.160 --> 0:12:55.760 Do they want it to turn off? I mean, are 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:58.520 they trying to save money? Are they saying, Okay, let's 0:12:58.520 --> 0:13:00.720 go back to the way things were happening. 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:04.840 It's hard to pinpoint where the lack of collective action 0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:08.240 in Congress comes from over the past two decades. What's 0:13:08.280 --> 0:13:11.400 remarkable to me is that you know, many governors. The 0:13:11.400 --> 0:13:13.840 way that this money was distributed is the American Rescue 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:18.520 Plan gave grants to states to spend in their states. Right, 0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:20.160 and so here here's a bunch of money from the 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:20.840 federal government. 0:13:20.920 --> 0:13:22.559 You know where in your local. 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:26.320 Economy, which areas need these funds. They've been distributed in 0:13:26.360 --> 0:13:28.760 all kinds of ways to all kinds of providers. So 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:32.560 for a childcare center, the average amount of money that 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:35.400 they got was one hundred and forty thousand dollars. Right, 0:13:35.440 --> 0:13:38.880 it's not necessarily a small amount of money for a 0:13:38.960 --> 0:13:43.680 center based care. Those governors have in turned gone back 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:46.319 to Congress and said, we need more money. This money 0:13:46.360 --> 0:13:48.880 is propping up our economy. This money is a good investment. 0:13:49.240 --> 0:13:52.640 We want additional funds to support childcare in our states. 0:13:53.000 --> 0:13:56.160 I have I know that certain members of Congress are interested. 0:13:56.200 --> 0:13:59.160 I have not seen anything like, you know, a bill 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:04.680 or movement or a plan. Certain legislators have put forward 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:09.440 various kind of proposals, but we're not talking about it 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:10.400 on the news every night. 0:14:10.559 --> 0:14:12.959 I thought maybe the hang up would be on the 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:15.440 state end of it, Like maybe you have some red 0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:19.400 state Republicans who maybe don't want to dip back into 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:22.240 that pot. But it sounds like from what you're saying, 0:14:22.880 --> 0:14:26.080 pretty much any governor who is able to benefit from 0:14:26.080 --> 0:14:28.640 this is saying, yeah, we need the help, and the 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:30.040 hang up is on the federal level. 0:14:30.400 --> 0:14:31.040 I don't think so. 0:14:31.200 --> 0:14:34.000 I think the hang up is on the I think 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:36.360 it's a red blue hang up because I'm not sure 0:14:36.360 --> 0:14:38.800 how many Republican governors have asked. I would have to check. 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:42.080 Here's where talking past each other works, right, And this 0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:46.120 is why this policy is not moving forward. You have 0:14:46.480 --> 0:14:53.040 economists and child development experts saying this is an absolute 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:59.640 when investment. It's helping families at the very start of 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:04.560 their kind of life. Invest in children, put them into 0:15:05.160 --> 0:15:08.720 early childhood education, help them get ready for school, help 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:12.120 with preschool exposure, give them things like a constant diet 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:16.160 that would help families who are struggling with food and security, 0:15:16.000 --> 0:15:17.960 and put them into childcare centers to get them ready 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:18.560 for preschool. 0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:21.000 This has really long dividends for the children. 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:24.160 At the same time, it also if you have free childcare, 0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:26.960 it frees up the parents to have basically whatever labor 0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:30.000 market activity they want. Maybe it's more, maybe it's less, 0:15:30.000 --> 0:15:32.160 but it's often that women want to work more. 0:15:32.560 --> 0:15:33.360 That has huge. 0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:36.160 Dividends in the economy because you're adding workers, so you're 0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:39.440 investing in the next generation, You're investing in the current workforce, 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:40.800 you're investing in the labor supply. 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:41.640 All of this is good. 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:44.920 The other side comes back with, you want the government 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:48.160 to raise our children. And every time I've written about childcare, 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:51.040 every time I've spoken about childcare, every time that I 0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:54.960 have talked about the economic dividends to childcare investment, someone 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:57.960 says to me, you want the government to raise our children. 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:01.240 How do you argue back against that. That's such a 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:02.240 blanket statement. 0:16:02.800 --> 0:16:05.960 Well, I would say that it's wholly inaccurate, although of 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.400 course I never say it quite appointedly to people's faces, 0:16:08.400 --> 0:16:10.040 because I'm, you know, a proper Southern girl. 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:11.400 I we try to be polite. 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:13.800 Sure, What I say to people is that the vast 0:16:13.840 --> 0:16:18.440 majority of women of mothers are working even when they 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:21.240 have children under six. This is not something that the 0:16:21.280 --> 0:16:24.880 government has decided parents should do. It's something that parents 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:26.280 have told the government they. 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:27.040 Want to do. 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:31.880 The majority of children are in childcare before they start school. 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:34.720 That means the majority of parents want to put their 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:38.640 kids into a childcare center. So what you're saying is that, 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:41.120 you know, parents make this decision that doesn't matter if 0:16:41.120 --> 0:16:43.720 the government helps them. That means the government's controlling them. 0:16:44.200 --> 0:16:47.080 So I kind of go back to it's on parents 0:16:47.080 --> 0:16:50.080 to decide. If there's free childcare, you don't have to go, 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:53.520 but if there's inaffordable, if there's unaffordable child care, you 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:57.480 can't go. So you're you're letting a market failure make 0:16:57.520 --> 0:17:00.920 a decision for families rather than having family and enabling 0:17:00.960 --> 0:17:02.880 families to make the decision themselves. 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:06.000 How did families manage this before the pandemic? Can't they 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:08.280 just go back to what they were doing before all 0:17:08.320 --> 0:17:09.480 these funds were flowing. 0:17:10.240 --> 0:17:13.639 Childcare industry lost about a third of its workforce at 0:17:13.680 --> 0:17:15.520 the start of the pandemic and it has still not 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:18.199 recovered it. So even if we just told families, you know, 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:20.320 go back to what you were doing, there would be 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:22.920 families who would lose childcare. And in the same time, 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:26.880 many of these businesses were going to close because they 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:30.199 did not have sustainable income that were kept open in 0:17:30.280 --> 0:17:33.880 part because of these federal funds. So families before the pandemic, 0:17:34.000 --> 0:17:37.560 you know, they did what families have been doing for decades. 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:41.679 When it comes to childcare, they either you choose not 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:44.720 to have it because they can't afford it, they work less, 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:47.720 and they have fewer children. I mean, the relationship between 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:52.680 childcare investments have two very clear outcomes, which is that 0:17:52.720 --> 0:17:55.679 one it increases fertility and people have more children when 0:17:55.720 --> 0:17:58.639 they can afford more children. And two, it helps women 0:17:59.119 --> 0:18:01.680 go to work they want to work. I mean, there's 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:04.040 not like there's going to be a government agent at 0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:06.359 the childcare drop off saying, oh, I see you dropped 0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:08.719 off little Johnny. Now get to your job. I mean, 0:18:08.760 --> 0:18:10.600 it's still your choice about what you do. 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:11.360 This is America. 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:12.879 You could choose to drop off your kids and go 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:14.520 to work, choose to drop off your kids and not 0:18:14.560 --> 0:18:16.920 go to work. What we don't have now is a 0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:20.159 choice for families that enables them to do what it 0:18:20.200 --> 0:18:22.840 is they want to do, because right now the market 0:18:22.880 --> 0:18:25.439 is deciding who gets childcare, and it's people who are 0:18:25.520 --> 0:18:27.440 high income in urban centers. 0:18:27.680 --> 0:18:31.280 Parents being inconvenienced is one thing, and parents not having 0:18:31.280 --> 0:18:34.320 a choice is another. But your column takes us beyond 0:18:34.359 --> 0:18:38.959 the household into the labor market. What this could portend 0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:43.280 as more people lose that option of childcare, with. 0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:46.520 The caveat that the government has never supported this industry 0:18:46.560 --> 0:18:49.840 so much. Therefore, the government's never taken this much help 0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:53.960 away at the really seeing it coming. The estimates are 0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:57.640 that it could be around three million spots that are 0:18:57.680 --> 0:19:01.040 lost in the economy because centers have to close. Now 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:03.680 there are centers that remain open. About half of them 0:19:03.680 --> 0:19:06.920 reported that they would immediately raise prices, and then kind 0:19:06.960 --> 0:19:09.320 of the other half have said something like cut staff, 0:19:09.359 --> 0:19:13.040 wages or benefits, which which could lose both of those 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:16.680 could could lead to reduced spots because you have staffing issues, 0:19:17.359 --> 0:19:20.080 or reduce spots because fewer people can afford them. So 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:24.119 it's there's no good version of what happens after we 0:19:24.240 --> 0:19:27.200 cut off these funds. It's just some version of bad. 0:19:27.560 --> 0:19:29.639 Maybe it's the bad that we already have to a 0:19:29.680 --> 0:19:32.760 lesser degree. Maybe it's you know, three million parents leaving 0:19:32.760 --> 0:19:35.240 the workforce in the month of October. Maybe it's a 0:19:35.240 --> 0:19:38.480 diffuse effect that takes six months to find out. I'm 0:19:38.560 --> 0:19:41.679 kind of the notion that, you know, we're not going 0:19:41.760 --> 0:19:44.040 to feel it. You know, it's not going to be 0:19:44.080 --> 0:19:46.520 a bang, it's going to be a whimper. Right that 0:19:46.560 --> 0:19:49.120 it's that instead of having three million people walk off 0:19:49.119 --> 0:19:51.120 the job at the start of October, we're just we're 0:19:51.119 --> 0:19:55.119 going to lose parents in every industry, in every occupation, 0:19:55.359 --> 0:19:58.960 in every state, in every locality, and we'll lose them 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:01.280 in such a diffuse way that we won't really see 0:20:01.320 --> 0:20:03.639 that they're gone. We'll just feel the same type of 0:20:03.640 --> 0:20:06.520 pressure points that we felt in the tight labor market 0:20:06.520 --> 0:20:07.720 of the past two years. 0:20:07.960 --> 0:20:12.920 Bloomberg Opinion columnist and labor economist Catherine Edwards joining us now. 0:20:12.960 --> 0:20:16.040 Don't forget We're available as a podcast on Apple Spotify, 0:20:16.320 --> 0:20:20.000 are your favorite podcast platform, and coming up. Death by 0:20:20.080 --> 0:20:24.320 alcohol impacting more women more than ever before, more women 0:20:24.520 --> 0:20:26.879 dying from alcohol. We're gonna look at what's going on. 0:20:27.280 --> 0:20:28.880 This is Bloomberg Opinion. 0:20:39.800 --> 0:20:43.600 You're listening to the Bloomberg Opinion podcast. Catch us Saturdays 0:20:43.640 --> 0:20:46.760 at one and seven pm Eastern on Bloomberg dot Com, 0:20:46.840 --> 0:20:49.960 the iHeartRadio app, and the Bloomberg Business App, or listen 0:20:50.040 --> 0:20:52.280 on demand wherever you get your podcasts. 0:20:54.520 --> 0:20:58.399 This is Bloomberg Opinion. I'm Amy Morris. New data show 0:20:58.600 --> 0:21:03.159 that more US women are dying from alcohol than ever before. 0:21:03.640 --> 0:21:07.399 Part of the problem pushing that boozy woman's rose all 0:21:07.520 --> 0:21:10.640 day lifestyle, and when you compare the numbers between women 0:21:10.680 --> 0:21:13.800 and men, you might be surprised at what you find. 0:21:13.840 --> 0:21:17.160 Let's get details now from Bloomberg opinion columnist Lisa Jarvis. 0:21:17.280 --> 0:21:21.040 She covers biotech, healthcare, and the pharmaceutical industry, and she's 0:21:21.080 --> 0:21:25.240 been looking into this. Lisa, tell us about how women 0:21:25.400 --> 0:21:29.280 are dying from alcohol. Are you talking about liver damage, 0:21:29.359 --> 0:21:32.880 alcohol poisoning, drunk driving? Like, what is the study telling you? 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:35.119 Yeah, it's all of those things. 0:21:35.160 --> 0:21:39.800 So it's liver damage and alcohol related accidents, you know, 0:21:40.000 --> 0:21:42.800 So it kind of covers the gamut. But what we're 0:21:42.840 --> 0:21:45.879 seeing is that, especially when it comes to midlife, that 0:21:45.920 --> 0:21:49.240 women in their thirties and forties in particular are drinking 0:21:49.280 --> 0:21:53.639 more and it's having real consequences. That there used to 0:21:53.720 --> 0:21:58.679 be a fairly substantial gap between kind of problematic drinking 0:22:00.119 --> 0:22:02.520 men and women, and that gap is narrowing. 0:22:03.280 --> 0:22:06.680