849 Gala Recap, "Free" Childcare is Not Really Free, Federal School Choice Regs, & Ozempic
Oct 6, 2026 · 49 min · 12 segments
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- Audience≈3k followers
Oct 6, 2026 · 49 min · 12 segments
Paul GessingHostWally DrangmeisterHost
When we are going into first topic of the conversation here is – MLG's free childcare won't be free for everyone after all.
It was great to be able to essentially offer the opportunity to them, and they took us up on it.
They got George Munoz, Senate Finance Committee Chair, to speak, Riley White, a UNM economist, and basically, we just presented the details in terms of what they're looking at in terms of future for this program, and it does involve co-pays.
Well, Paul, it's not really free and universal, even if it doesn't have any co-pays, because that money that's going into that program could be going into your bank account directly.
Basically, instead of getting your childcare through the government, if taxes were lower, you'd probably have more money to pay for childcare yourself.
And then believe me, like many things like this, if you are too young or don't have children or too old, your children are gone or past the age requiring any daycare, you're still paying for this.
But it's not surprising, Paul, there's so many of these programs that when they get put in, and even when they don't get put in, and I'm thinking of the paid family medical leave, they make all these promises about, well, it's just going to be this much out of your paycheck, this much from the employee, just much.
And this is one where they started off with free, meaning government will pay for it all.
And lo and behold, it didn't take too long before government has to get some more money from the people getting the service.
You know, one of the reasons you have co-pays, for example, is in health care.
If something's free, you know, Paula, I don't think you'd have any trouble attracting an audience or a clientele if you're a gas station said we're offering free gasoline for the next month.
But If, uh, people don't have an economic incentive that's aligned with reality, uh, these things become way more expensive and, uh, lo and behold, maybe that's what's already happened with, uh, quote unquote, free childcare.
And, uh, you know, I, I try to avoid using terms like free, uh, because somebody does ultimately pay the bills.
But, uh, We are going to move on to another story which we've been waiting for at the Rio Grande Foundation for quite a while.
When we are going into first topic of the conversation here is – MLG's free childcare won't be free for everyone after all.
It was great to be able to essentially offer the opportunity to them, and they took us up on it.
They got George Munoz, Senate Finance Committee Chair, to speak, Riley White, a UNM economist, and basically, we just presented the details in terms of what they're looking at in terms of future for this program, and it does involve co-pays.
Well, Paul, it's not really free and universal, even if it doesn't have any co-pays, because that money that's going into that program could be going into your bank account directly.
Basically, instead of getting your childcare through the government, if taxes were lower, you'd probably have more money to pay for childcare yourself.
And then believe me, like many things like this, if you are too young or don't have children or too old, your children are gone or past the age requiring any daycare, you're still paying for this.
But it's not surprising, Paul, there's so many of these programs that when they get put in, and even when they don't get put in, and I'm thinking of the paid family medical leave, they make all these promises about, well, it's just going to be this much out of your paycheck, this much from the employee, just much.
And this is one where they started off with free, meaning government will pay for it all.
And lo and behold, it didn't take too long before government has to get some more money from the people getting the service.
You know, one of the reasons you have co-pays, for example, is in health care.
If something's free, you know, Paula, I don't think you'd have any trouble attracting an audience or a clientele if you're a gas station said we're offering free gasoline for the next month.
But If, uh, people don't have an economic incentive that's aligned with reality, uh, these things become way more expensive and, uh, lo and behold, maybe that's what's already happened with, uh, quote unquote, free childcare.
And, uh, you know, I, I try to avoid using terms like free, uh, because somebody does ultimately pay the bills.
But, uh, We are going to move on to another story which we've been waiting for at the Rio Grande Foundation for quite a while.
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