Study shows two child household must earn $400k/year to afford childcare

Headline Number and 7% Assumption

• Many commenters find the "$400k household income" claim implausible on its face, since most families use childcare without earning anything close to that.
• Others point out the article’s math: ~$28k/year for two kids and an HHS “affordable” benchmark of 7% of income → ~$400k needed to keep costs under that threshold.
• Several note that the shock value comes almost entirely from the 7% rule; most families simply spend more than that share of income on childcare.

Actual Childcare Costs & Economics

• Numbers around $1.5–2k/month per kid in many US locales are reported, with wide regional variation and higher costs for infants due to stricter ratios.
• Some argue $28k/year for infant + 4‑year‑old is a realistic national average; others say even that feels absurd relative to many workers’ wages.
• Explanations include labor intensity, legally mandated child-to-caregiver ratios, high overhead, and Baumol’s cost disease (low-scope for automation).

Role of Regulation and Informal Care

• Several recall an older norm of neighborhood moms informally watching multiple kids cheaply.
• Others say modern licensing, inspections, and ratio rules make small-scale, informal paid care effectively illegal or uneconomical, pushing families toward expensive centers.
• Some defend regulation as necessary to prevent neglectful or abusive “cheap care” and to avoid long-run social costs.

Capitalism, Taxes, and Subsidies

• Thread branches into debates about capitalism vs “state capitalism,” tax levels on the rich, and whether taxing wealth would meaningfully change childcare costs.
• Some argue childcare is exactly the kind of sector that should be heavily subsidized as social infrastructure; others say taxes and redistribution can’t solve structural cost drivers.

International Comparisons

• Multiple commenters contrast the US with Europe/Scandinavia/Canada: subsidized or income-based fees, low out-of-pocket costs, long protected parental leave, and a political willingness to fund this via taxation.
• Counterpoints note that even in Europe, high-end or private care can still reach US-like prices and capacity remains a problem in some places.

Family Structure and Gender Roles

• There is substantial discussion of stay-at-home parenting vs dual-income households, with some praising “traditional” single-earner families as both cheaper and higher-quality care.
• Others highlight economic reality (mortgages needing two incomes), single-parent households, and equity concerns: long career breaks disproportionately harm women.
• Several comment on the emotional side: many mothers reportedly want to spend more time at home; some fathers feel less innate interest in babies, prompting nature vs nurture arguments.

Broader Social Tradeoffs

• A recurring theme is that lack of leave, universal healthcare, and subsidized childcare are themselves costly—Americans “pay” via stress, debt, and foregone family time.
• Some personal stories show families choosing one parent at home and retiring earlier; others spend six figures on childcare so both parents can work, then question if the tradeoff was worth it.