[Editorial] Haphazard welfare policy

The government keeps saying it would resist any attempts by political parties to introduce populist welfare programs. Yet at the same time, it keeps contradicting itself by continuing to expand politically motivated welfare measures. A case in point is its haphazard expansion of the child care subsidy program.

Last year, the government abruptly announced it would provide a child care subsidy to all families with a 5-year-old starting this year, regardless of their income, if they send their child to a kindergarten or a day care center. The government’s previous policy was to offer the subsidy to families in the bottom 70 percent of the income distribution.

Then the government also decided to cover starting this year the cost of day care for families with a child under 24 months old in a bid to help working mothers continue to work after childbirth.

The government’s plan for universal coverage of 5-year-olds did not elicit much criticism, although some critics viewed it as a populist step.

Yet the measure for children under the age of 2 triggered sharp criticisms not only from parents who chose to raise their child at home but from families with a child aged 3 or 4.

Critics noted that in case of a child under 24 months old, in-home care is better than day care for his emotional development. Parents with a 3- or 4-year-old, for their part, rightly pointed out that the government had their priorities all wrong.

Hence the government announced on Wednesday that it would provide a subsidy from next year to families who choose to raise their child under age 2 at home, if they belong to the bottom 70 percent of the income ladder. Currently the subsidy is offered to families in the bottom 15 percent of the income scale.

The government also said it would expand the subsidized child care program next year to cover all families that have a child aged 3 or 4, but only if they send him to a kindergarten or a day care center.

Thus the government has rapidly expanded the child care subsidy program without a coherent blueprint. We suspect the April general election was the background for Wednesday’s measures. It would be a surprise if such a politically motivated program can be implemented without problems.

The most serious problem is that while the number of kids to be placed at kindergartens or day care centers will surge following the expansion of the subsidy program, qualified teachers who can take care of them are in short supply. As a result, many institutions will be unable to provide quality care.

Another problem is that many provincial governments are not prepared to execute the expanded welfare program, which is only partially funded by the national treasury. They could not set aside funds for it because the central government expanded it without any consultation with them.