Everybody who’s paying attention knows that the childcare system in the U.S. is an overloaded ship taking on water far from shore that only stays afloat on the backs of exhausted and underpaid workers. Successive administrations have made attempts to overhaul it, but, to date, bailing it out has been seen as the only viable option. Among the many burdens sinking the system are that childcare workers are paid too little to make a sustainable living, while childcare prices are too high for most families to afford.