This is in response to the recently published letter about “entitled-feeling parents” lobbying for subsidized child care (“Child care: The other side of the coin,” June 13). The author has basically stated that childcare should be a luxury item. To the rest of us, she’s saying leave Park City with your children if you can’t afford to be here.
Many of us are full-time residents who were born here or found ourselves in Park City long before it was for the rich and famous. Many of the parents who are asking for help keep the town running by working in the restaurants, schools, and for the district. They make a wage that makes it basically impossible to stay here all while serving people like the author said who “did their research and can afford to live here”.
Not all of us have just “come here” and are now asking for handouts. Many of us have longterm ties to the area. We have extended families in Park City whom we rely on for child care. Please tell me, who will run the schools if we do not have teachers? Who will keep us safe if we do not have police/firefighters? Plow your snow? Shovel your roof? Manage your HOA? Who will clean your dishes and serve you at your fancy restaurants if you don’t have hospitality workers? It’s not the “entitled-feeling parents” that have destroyed this once community-focused small town. It’s the concept: Only the people “who DID their research and can afford to be here” that has destroyed the quality of life that was here long before Park City was famous.
The author is saying these parents should just commute. We aren’t Manhattan. We are a tourism-based town. People commute to big cities for big city jobs, big city salaries, big city careers. There are fewer reasons like that to make commuting worth it here. A good chunk of our jobs are in the hotels, driving shuttles, working in our restaurants, and ski resorts. Those jobs come with lower wages that don’t make commuting worth it, but are required for this town to function. For the author to say that these people should just commute to work and then get the hell out because they can’t afford to live here is what is entitled, not the working parents in Park City.
We need Park City and Summit County to step in and help the working class. Not because we are entitled, but because a city CANNOT FUNCTION without a labor force.
To those that don’t have kids and/or haven’t raised children recently:
There is a child care crisis in Park City and all over the country. Other than being completely unaffordable for the middle class (and entirely unattainable for anyone making less), wait lists are two to three years out for the places that remain open (and are struggling to retain staff). Nannies/babysiters cost $30/hour minimum. Many schools and centers have closed down, including the main center that cared for our teacher’s kids, in the last few years. It’s the same as college tuition. Read reports and statistics on why child care in this country is broken. Listen to the moms and parents struggling all over the state. Parents are working their butts off and trying to raise families in a system that has completely broken down.
What the author is saying in her letter is that childcare and having a family should be a luxury item. That living in Park City with kids is only for the top 1%. With that mentality, let’s only offer general education, health care, paved roads, and other social services to those that can afford it, too. Let’s see how well that serves the general population.
Also, let’s address the concept of entitlement. Labeling people who need social programs as “entitled” is often an inaccurate and unfair characterization. Here are a few reasons why:
- Socioeconomic circumstances: People who require social programs often come from disadvantaged backgrounds or face challenging circumstances.
- Social safety nets: They are intended to create a safety net that ensures everyone has access to essential services, such as healthcare, education, housing, and food.
- Systemic issues: Characterizing those who rely on these programs as entitled disregards the underlying structural factors that contribute to their need for assistance.
- Diverse circumstances: They may include single parents, veterans, individuals with disabilities, health issues, or those facing temporary setbacks.
Instead of using terms like “entitled,” it is more constructive to engage in thoughtful dialogue about the importance of social support and the need to address systemic issues that contribute to the difficulties the Park City community faces. That includes child care.
The author is clearly sharing her opinion born in a bygone era of parenthood. Life has changed a bit for young families in the last 40 years, though. Not just in Park City, but all over the country. There are several factors that contribute to the financial challenges of raising children in 2023:
- Inflation: Over the past 40 years, the cost of living has increased due to inflation. Prices for essential goods and services, such as housing, food, gas, health care, education, and child care, have risen significantly.
- Housing costs: The cost of housing has skyrocketed in Summit County and all of the surrounding areas. Housing prices have hugely outpaced wage growth.
- Child care expenses: The cost of childcare has become a significant financial burden for many families. The demand for quality child care has increased, while the availability of affordable options has not kept pace. Parents often face high costs for day care, preschool, or after-school programs, making it challenging to balance work and family responsibilities. These costs can place a significant burden on families and make it harder to save for other needs, remain in the labor force, or attain secure financial stability.
- Wage stagnation: Adjusted for inflation, wages have not kept up with the rising costs of living. This puts additional strain on families’ finances, making it harder to cover the increasing expenses associated with raising children.
- Changing family dynamics: Dual-income households have become more common as both parents often need to work to make ends meet. This can lead to additional child care expenses and an increased need for additional child care openings.
These rising costs have literally broken our community so much that parents are desperately begging the City Council for help.
The author suggested parents “band together.” WE ARE.
Summit County’s property taxes are low compared to the rest of the county and there is plenty of money to tap into. By increasing property taxes on non-primary property owners, large hotel chains, aggressively raising funds, and having the city/county buy land/commercial space, there should plenty of money available to open at least one new child care center, pay a living wage to the caregivers in those centers, and help subsidize the daycares that are barely hanging on by a thread. If people can afford to buy vacation properties here, they can surely afford to pay a higher tax rate to help support the community they want to play in. The next step is helping keep tuition in the realm of affordability. If parents are paying 100% of their earrings to a child care center, what’s the point of going to work?
We have bigger problems to solve than needing more pickleball courts! The entire town has come together for decades in the name of saving open space and recreation. I’m all for recreation and open space. Along with wanting to be near extended family, it’s kept me here for 40 years. BUT, it’s long past time to focus on the people who keep the town running.
We need funds going toward child care and towards affordable housing NOW. Toward making sure Park City remains a socioeconomically and culturally diverse city today and for generations to come.
What do you think? Is child care more important than pickleball? Should the city pay for child care? Should a tax increase? Send your thoughts to [email protected], include your name, your neighborhood/address, and we’ll publish them as soon as we can.