Day care is one of the most important economic issues of our time

At this point, it seems pretty clear that our 20th-century institutions are failing our 21st-century families.

Maybe the best way to tell is this: In 1990, 74 percent of American women between the ages of 25 and 54 either had a job or were looking for one, the sixth-highest rate among 22 rich countries. By 2017, though, that number had risen to 75 percent, by then the fourth-lowest share among the same group of wealthy nations.

By Matt O’Brien