Minneapolis, MN · Issue of September 9, 2026
3 pieces, newest first.
For a growing number of households the two most expensive years of family life now overlap. Six families in the middle of it on what breaks first, and what the arithmetic actually looks like.
Marcus Whitfield4 min
Our analysis of federal childcare price data against fair-market rents finds infant care outrunning a two-bedroom in thirty-one states — plus a four-day school week spreading, a benefit cliff in committee, and the studies worth your time.
IndexDavid Nkemelu3 min
Grandparent childcare saves American households billions of dollars a year and it is the least examined transaction in the household economy. We followed four families who rely on it, and asked what is being paid, and by whom.
Rosa Delgado4 min