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> Look, anytime you have a waiting list for something, capitalism has broken. Not entirely true. A day care has variable costs that jump at the kid count modu
by RhysU 2y ago
> Look, anytime you have a waiting list for something, capitalism has broken.
Not entirely true.
A day care has variable costs that jump at the kid count modulo something. Often a government-mandated ratio of adults to kids at various age groups. And adults that have to be paid some government-mandated minimum wage plus some benefits.
Therefore, a day care may be profitable for N kids but not profitable for N+1 kids.
So, the rational choice for a day care may be to optimize for always, always having exactly N kids. Hence, wait lists so when 1 kid departs another kid can immediately replace them.
N might vary if the owner chooses to work as a caretaker. Has some sweet rent deal on a fixed amount of space. Etc.
Notice, this sketch of why wait lists may exist isn't due to capitalism. It's due to a rational response to governmental mandates atop capitalism.
> You raise prices until you don't have a waiting list.
Nah, the parent decides to hire a nanny. Or to host an au pair. Or to move closer to family foregoing some earnings potential. That's the way to buy your way out via substitute goods using just money.
(Notice those substitutes operate in different regulatory regimes. Notice also the day care has to compete against those substitute goods! There's a limit to what parents will pay.)
- Balgair 2y agoI agree with the math, but the reality on the ground is much more complex. Sure, a waitlist of a few months is fine here. But waitlists of > 1 year are the norm (at least for all the parents I've talked with). I can't see how any mod() math is going to square up with those long of waits. Look, the US is the only country that has this issue. And it's a huge issue. Talk to any parent of young kids, they will all complain about the daycare system we have. It needs fixing and raw capitalism isn't the method to fix it with.
- RhysU 2y ago> But waitlists of > 1 year are the norm (at least for all the parents I've talked with). It takes 1 year for a batch of similarly aged kids to age into the next classroom. >1 year sounds like math to me, especially under the selection bias of adults only talking about this hassle when commiserating. > Look, the US is the only country that has this issue. The US stinks at domestically developing young talent vs its relative ability to attract skilled adults from across the world, raised to adulthood on the dime of other other countries' infrastructure. The US demographics pyramid relies on and will increasingly rely on immigration. Right or wrong, it's a feature not a bug. I didn't realize how hostile some locales were to children until I left NYC (which stinks for kids in many ways) to NJ (which excels for them, a complement to NYC, attracting families in the process). Ever seen an entire city glow at your dog but glower at your kids?