Nancy Folbre has a new article in The American Prospect about the rising costs of care work and its impact on the economy:
Our economic system runs on human capabilities, and these are not a costless resource supplied by some self-sacrificing Mother Nature. Our own production, development, and maintenance requires both personal commitments and public support. As Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute points out, increased public investments in child care and the elderly could reduce inflationary pressures. We will never be as cheap to produce as television sets, cars, or even robots. We will remain more valuable, even if we can’t be bought and sold.
