Mark Robinson Passes The Blame On Child Care Funding Cliff Instead Of Calling On His Party To Prevent Looming Economic Crisis

Mark Robinson has once again failed to support the people of North Carolina. New reporting from the Smoky Mountain News shows that Robinson would rather pass the buck than call on his party to avert an economic crisis created by the child care funding cliff. Robinson could easily call on the Republican supermajority to address this problem, but instead he’s content standing by while families, educators, and business owners face this crisis alone.

Lack of access to adequate child care will be detrimental to North Carolina families and the state’s economic future, leading to higher costs for parents and the potential closure of more than 1,500 child care facilities. Issues in child care already result in an estimated $5.65 billion annual loss for North Carolina’s economy. If parents are not able to find accessible and affordable childcare, the economy will see high levels of job vacancies and lost earnings. North Carolina has been ranked the top state for business for the past two years – but Mark Robinson continues to find reasons to put that in jeopardy. 

Meanwhile, Josh Stein is committed to working to keep qualified early childhood educators in the classroom and to make child care more affordable and accessible for North Carolina families As Stein told the Smoky Mountain News, “We need adequate child care because parents need to work and kids need a safe place to grow and learn. The General Assembly allowing these centers to close is bad for business, bad for our children, and bad for our future.”

“In a surprise to no one, Mark Robinson refuses to show leadership on issues that matter to North Carolinians,” said Morgan Hopkins, a spokesperson for the campaign. “He’s failing to urge his colleagues in the State House and Senate to come together and solve the upcoming child care funding cliff. Josh Stein is committed to investing in our people and creating a welcoming economic climate for workers and businesses, unlike his opponent who would rather point fingers and create job-killing culture wars.”