Universal Preschool is perhaps the single biggest achievement of our chapter to date. What we’ve achieved, along with our allies and coalition partners, is Multnomah County’s Preschool for All program. And when we say “for all,” what that means is that there is no “means-testing” (you don’t have to qualify based on income limits or anything else); the program offers not only part-day, but full-day options (up to 10 hours!) for parents who work full-time jobs, and teacher pay is higher than statewide programs.
Preschool for All has been profoundly impactful, saving families as much as $26,000 a year. You can learn more on our coalition’s website (created by and paid for by DSA).
Preschool for All is also frequently and continuously under attack. Why? Because it represents a voter-approved, highly successful, extremely popular, and highly beneficial program that utilizes wealth redistribution to the benefit of the working class, and specifically, to those who need it most. Its success clearly refutes arguments for Reagan-era “trickle-down” economic theory.
We know from hard economic data that there is simply no better strategy for raising local incomes, cutting poverty, and boosting the local economy, than to invest in universal preschool as an anti-poverty program, creating multi-generational economic and health gains, especially for those with the least historic access and who stand to benefit the most.