| It was probably the only time tax policy took center stage at the Met Gala. New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's "tax the rich" dress at the annual fundraising event this week fanned the debate over how much the wealthy should be on the hook for supporting U.S. government spending programs. What's getting lost in this debate, though, is what President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion tax plan would pay for: A substantial overhaul of the social safety net that could redefine child care and education in the U.S., giving women and working families greater economic freedom. Here are some of the measures in the proposal: For decades, the U.S. has notoriously lagged behind other developed nations on government-subsidized paid family leave and child care. They were seen as political pipe dreams. The pandemic child-care crisis has, in part, changed that. There's real economic impetus for these initiatives. If the U.S. were to spend 0.4% of its gross domestic product — or $85.6 billion — on direct payments to parents, the child poverty rate would fall from 16% to 4%, according to estimates from University of Maryland economics professor Melissa Kearney. Roughly 1.6 million parents would join the labor force as a direct result of subsidized and reduced child-care costs, according to the Center for American Progress. As any skilled salesperson knows, you sell the value of a deal, not the price. This isn't just ideological. It's about getting the economy back on track and getting people back to work. —Shelly Banjo | 
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