Re: “Affordability isn’t a hoax. It’s not a crisis for most, either” (Dec. 16, Opinion):
I was baffled to read Allison Schrager’s column, which did not contain any mention whatsoever of skyrocketing health care costs. How about those millions who are about to see a doubling of their insurance premiums due to the dumping of the subsidies that made them affordable?
And I am very tired of seeing the old argument that child care is a temporary cost for families (the average annual cost in the Seattle area is $19,200 per child). What happens when those over 5 need summer camp — at least till they are 12 — during the ridiculously long U.S. summer break? (For comparison, the UK has a 6-week summer break.)
As reported in The Seattle Times (“Seattle-area costly child care strains family budgets during summer break,” June 20, Business), in King County “more affordable programs range from $400 to $700 per week.” Taking the conservative figure of $500 per week, for the average two-child family that is years of paying $10,000 per summer, which no one ever includes in these cost estimates.
And every single type of insurance, from professional liability, to house, car and long-term care, is also in unregulated, unremitting ascendancy to the sky.
Jacqueline Houston, Seattle
