The Caregiver Credit Campaign is taking it to the next level with this cool comic. Feminists have been arguing for acknowledgment and support for the caregiving work that is a vital social contribution since the dawn of feminism itself.
And we still have so very far to go. The U. S. is one of only 6 countries in the world that do not require paid maternity leave. And we are still a long way from attaining the feminist dream of quality child care centers as free and plentiful as public parks.
The Caregiver Credit Campaign has been around since the days of the horrific welfare reform debate - which left absolutely no doubt about the value our leaders, be they conservative or liberal, fail to place on the this vital social contribution.
The Caregiver Credit Campaign:
Caregiving is as essential to human life as land, water or air. It is as important as paying jobs at McDonalds, Ebay or Boeing. Without caregivers, no one would be alive today. No one. Caring work within families is an essential component of economic, social, and political well-being. It is largely unacknowledged, and as work, usually unpaid. Yet, from the moment caregivers "leave home" for the marketplace, the former nurturing work is extracted from the nation's economic resources by way of daycare centers, fast food, nursing homes, etc.
The nation gets ahead every time a caregiver stays put even for just one day. Estimates of U.S. savings resulting from home caregiving to frail elderly parents or disabled or dying family members were pegged at $257,000,000,000 in 2002. If caregiving were not done within families of blood or choice, the cost to society of substitute care would be immense. A fully refundable Caregiver Credit would set us on a political trajectory toward "just distribution" and be cost effective.
. . . We all come into the world in need of care and we all leave the same way. Robots may soon be able to sweep our floors, but when will they be able to teach our kids ethics or comfort the dying?
"...the comic is fan-f***ing-tastic...it's a triumph. And a real consciousness-boiiiiiiing." - Robin Morgan, author
"Wonder Woman may have tangled with Angle Man and Dr. Psycho, but America's newest superheroine, Carrie Giver is... fighting for the rights of mothers and other caregivers---and she's using her powers of ESP and astral projection to do it. She's sharp. She's fast. She's mean with her stun gloves. If there's anyone who belongs in the Justice League, it's Carrie." - Lauren MacIntyre, The New Yorker
Buy The Adventures of Carrie Giver and learn about the movement to better the lives of all Americans by valuing carework.
Thanks to Jessica at Feministing.
Caregiver Credit Campaign Feminism Women's Work Carework Family Support Policy Welfare Deform
