2026-10-14 - Policy Committee
Summary
Based on uploaded (human-made) captions; minor errors are possible. The roll call and some councilmember names are garbled, so speakers outside the named councilmembers are identified by role or organization.
Time on topic (from transcript timestamps; approximate, includes side talk):
| Topic | Minutes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Saint Paul Affordability Gap | 21 | 37% |
| Saint Paul Housing Cost Burden | 10 | 17% |
| Child Care Affordability | 24 | 43% |
| Saint Paul Minimum Wage Increase Exploration | 2 | 3% |
- Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
- The City Council Policy Committee held an informational session on affordability, planned and coordinated by Councilmember Kim, with three outside presentations.
- The captions say six members were present and one had an excused absence. No votes were taken.
- The recording runs about 1 hour 5 minutes; the first seven minutes are music only and the last stretch after 1:05 is music again, and neither is counted.
Saint Paul Affordability Gap
7:44-28:52
- Councilmember Kim framed the session around what a resident would need to earn to live in Saint Paul and said the aim was to ground the council in data and start a conversation.
- A research director from a policy think tank covered both sides of affordability, prices and wages. A typical Ramsey County family (one full-time worker, one part-time worker, one child) needs a little over $80,000 for basic needs, the seventh highest county cost in the state. At median household earnings the family falls about $5,500 short; a household at the minimum wage with one child falls about $25,000 short, and with more children over $50,000.
- Price pressures cited: fuel prices up about 57 percent since the start of the Iran war, rising health premiums, expected health coverage losses from Medicaid cuts, and tariffs. On wages: a weak 2025 job market, labor force participation falling in the first half of 2026, flat median real wages, and widening gaps between high and low earners and between CEO and worker pay. Union members were the exception.
- The presenter argued city hall has few levers on prices and more on wages: easier union organizing, union incentives in city spending, sectoral bargaining, protecting immigrant workers, and raising the local minimum wage, citing California's fast-food wage as an example. These are the presenter's claims and are not verified here.
- A councilmember asked whether the typical-family assumption is realistic and said the gap would be larger for families with more children; the presenter agreed that more children raise costs sharply.
Saint Paul Housing Cost Burden
28:52-38:22
- An organizer with a regional housing coalition said the median rent is $1,247 for the city (from 2024 data, probably near $1,300 now), which takes an annual income of about $47,900, or roughly $24 an hour, to avoid being cost burdened.
- Reported figures: 49 percent of Saint Paul renter households and 20 percent of homeowners are cost burdened, and about 33 percent of households earn $50,000 or less. Rents in affordable developments set at 50 to 60 percent of area median income still require roughly $23.74 to $28.44 an hour.
- The speaker urged the council to look closely at what counts as "affordable" as more of it is built.
- Council President Noecker asked (the captions say only "council president") whether the income figures were gross or net, and the presenter said gross.
Child Care Affordability
38:22-1:02:38
- Three child care advocates (a center director and two parents who also work in the field) made the case for early childhood investment: most brain development happens before age 5, and quality care has strong returns.
- Cost drivers cited: teacher pay and benefits, licensing and compliance, supplies, meals, administration, facilities and insurance. Average center cost was given as $23,452 a year versus $19,312 for University of Minnesota tuition, and the federal affordability standard would imply a family income of about $335,000 for one child in Saint Paul.
- Workforce: early educators average about $18 to $20 an hour, many rely on public benefits, and turnover disrupts children. Seven long-standing Saint Paul centers closed last year, which the speakers said was because families cannot pay more and centers cannot pay teachers enough. They cited about $2.1 billion in annual economic losses to Minnesota.
- The ask: councilmembers should support and testify for a universal child care system at the state level, keep educators of color and immigrants in mind, and fund higher wages without raising family costs, including raising revenue from large businesses.
- Councilmember Johnson (named in the captions only as "Johnson") said their family pays about $500 a week for child care, more than average rent in many cases, and tied rent, child care and evictions together. Another councilmember said low child care pay and cost push women out of the workforce, and another asked about policies that would redistribute wealth from high earners.
Saint Paul Minimum Wage Increase Exploration
1:02:38-1:04:29
- Councilmember Kim said next steps are outreach to more groups, including labor groups and families, through engagement sessions with the office.
- Kim said there is no budget like the roughly $150,000 spent on the prior minimum wage study, so the office will follow a no-cost, people-first approach like the one used for the tree ordinance, and invited residents to reach out.
Sources
Video
Transcript
These are uploaded (human-made) English captions; minor errors are possible.
Transcript
07:13>> City Council Policy
07:14Committee to order call
07:14police. Councilmember bully
07:18here. Council president maker
07:20here Councilmember toast
07:24councilmember comment
07:25Councilmember Kym yet
07:26Councilor Yang. Councilor
07:31Johnson here i Councilmember
07:33Ewing has an excused absence,
07:34seeing 6 present.
07:35>> One absent. Wasn't used.
07:44>> bringing to government all
07:46With that, I am. So looking
07:48forward to conversation. Say
07:49thanks to all our guests for
07:50being here. Looking
07:52>> forward to continuing our
07:53conversation. I want to turn
07:54things over to Councilmember
07:54Kim, who has
07:56>> planned and coordinated
07:57this session. Yes, thank you.
07:59Because lot of credit by
08:01legislative a peaceful people
08:02this all together. It was one
08:03of his first meetings that I
08:04had with him when he started
08:06was a big policy meeting. So
08:06today we're going to talk
08:07about we're gonna overview on
08:12affordability in Saint Paul,
08:13where kind of narrowing in on
08:142 key areas. And a good from
08:16Nestor policy. The intent of
08:18us being grounded in the data
08:18and this conversation is to
08:22start the conversation with
08:24says the council and are
08:26millions of viewers at home
08:28around 40 billion sme Paul
08:30that specifically taking a
08:30look at what you would have to
08:32earn as a minimum wage to be
08:33able to live and thrive here
08:34in Saint Paul. So we're going
08:37to have 3 speakers join us.
08:38The first one is going to be
08:41from the North star policy.
08:42Worst our policy research.
08:45Sorry, nurse or policy action.
08:46Oh, my goodness. I will have
08:50the speaker introduce
08:50themselves. They're all aware
08:51of. The timing stated that
08:52about 15 to 20 minutes to get
08:55through each presentation and
08:55will kick it off with Aaron.
08:56Please introduce yourself.
08:59Thank you so Members of the
09:02council. I'm Erin Rose on the
09:03research director at NorthStar
09:06Policy Action.
09:07>> think tank dedicated to
09:07improving the lives of working
09:08Minnesota ease. I'm also a
09:12lifelong Saint Paul resident
09:14born and raised here.
09:16>> And that current Hamlin,
09:16midway resident.
09:20>> So I was told to get
09:22surveyed overview right of
09:23affordability as it.
09:25>> And just in Minnesota and
09:26Saint Paul. Do that by talking
09:31about what we might refer to
09:32as the 2 sides of the
09:32affordability coin. Which is
09:36really a race between prices
09:39and wages. So if we see prices
09:40going up, but wages going up
09:41faster, we can actually
09:42portability is improving. talk
09:46a lot about crisis in
09:49discussing affordability. We
09:50tend talk a lot less about
09:53wages. And I think doing so.
09:55We failed to grounds to in in
09:59the inequality that actually
10:01exists, which is to say that
10:02affordability is an inequality
10:04issue. And we have to
10:05understand that at its roots.
10:08So I'm going talk both sides
10:09of this. The price side and
10:12the wage side and then try to
10:13bring it together at the end.
10:16The price is the stuff that
10:17again, we talk about more. And
10:18so I don't think any of this
10:18will come a surprise. We've
10:22seen changes in inflation
10:23across the U.S. the Midwest,
10:25the Twin Cities is moved
10:26remarkably singly. Peaking in
10:302022. Around 8%. One thing
10:31that I think we often don't
10:32talk enough about is that
10:33inflation came down quite a
10:36bit in following 3 years. 23,
10:3825 then more recently we've
10:40seen an increase as the Iran
10:41war is really driven up fuel
10:44prices. In fact, I was just
10:44seeing that the consumer price
10:48indexes rose again in
10:48September to 3.6%. Well ahead
10:51of expectations. If we see in
10:57to Saint Paul and Ramsey
10:59County and the data is really
11:00much easier Ramsey. So I'm
11:01gonna talk more about Rams,
11:02even saying all that Saint
11:06Paul's obviously makes up a
11:06good portion of a Ramsey
11:07County.
11:09If w look at basic cost of
11:12living for a typical family,
11:13which the Department of
11:17Economic Development refers to
11:19as one full-time worker, one
11:21part-time worker and one
11:21child. For that family to meet
11:26their basic needs Ramsey
11:28County requires $80,000 a
11:30little bit over $80,000. That
11:32makes frenzy the 7th most
11:33expensive county in the state.
11:39So we know that that's the
11:40cost of living. And ten we
11:43can look at a bundle of goods
11:45within that cost of living
11:46right and how things have
11:47changed. So again, not gonna
11:50surprise anybody by talking
11:52about huge increases in fuel
11:53prices up about 57% since the
11:54start of the wrong more in
11:57Minnesota, Ramsey County,
12:00again, sort of in the middle
12:01of the state in terms of our
12:01average fuel price. Just below
12:04U.S. average. If we bring that
12:10out to look at what this is
12:11actually costing families. So
12:13not just what are they paying
12:13at the pump, but how those
12:14fuel prices fow through the
12:15rest of the economy in
12:18Minnesota for a family of 4
12:19with 2 drivers, year-to-date,
12:22those spent about $1000 more
12:24than they would have without
12:24the war due to those costs.
12:26And by the end of 2026, we can
12:30expect them to spend almost
12:31$1800 more because of these
12:32increased fuel prices. Another
12:39important bundle
12:39to understand within rising
12:40cost goods is health care. So
12:43health premiums are up about
12:4575% in the past 12 years. This
12:47is true on both the employee
12:49side of contributions and the
12:50employer side of
12:51contributions, deductibles,
12:53what people are spending out
12:54of pocket. Also up about 84%
12:57over the past 12 years. And as
12:59we'll see, wages have not
12:59grown at nearly that pace.
13:05This, of course, is a problem
13:07that is bad and about to get
13:09substantially worse. So we've
13:10seen the number of people
13:12losing their health insurance
13:14and Minnesota go up by
13:16160,020. 25, expect another
13:18140 to 180,000 to lose their
13:21health care by 2034 due to the
13:24cuts to Medicaid to a billion
13:25dollars in uncompensated care
13:26from Minnesota hospitals.
13:28That, of course will then
13:30filter out the hospital's and
13:31eat some of that cost. But for
13:32the most part, we will al
13:34take on those costs leading to
13:35higher health crisis in the
13:36future. And then one final
13:41place that will touch on is
13:42just the increased cost put on
13:43families by in Minnesota. The
13:46average family has spent about
13:47$1300 more than they would
13:48have because of 2025. that is
13:53likely to get worse in 2026.
13:53With the imposition of new
13:54tariffs on Canada, which will
13:58disproportionately impact
13:58Minnesota with Canada being
13:59are largest foreign trading
14:00partner. And of course, it's
14:06not just those categories, its
14:07food, its housing childcare,
14:08transportation. Some of what
14:09you'll hear more about in the
14:09other presentations. My guess
14:14is that none of this is a new
14:16friend here. We're aware of
14:17the fact that prices are going
14:18up. But again, we spend less
14:19time talking about this other
14:20side, which is wages. And to
14:25start talking about wages. I
14:26want to begin with a
14:27discussion of jobs and I want
14:30to start by talking about jobs
14:31because a softer, weaker labor
14:33market puts more pressure on
14:35wages, right? If people are
14:36finding harder to find work,
14:38it means that employers can
14:39offer them less money. And so
14:40wages are likely to go down.
14:45So 2025 is particularly tough
14:46year for Minnesota's labor
14:48market. We added about 4,000
14:50jobs as you see in the graph.
14:52That's the lowest number of
14:52jobs added in a non-pandemic
14:53year the Great Recession.
14:57Since the end o 2025. Things
15:00have gotten worse. The onset
15:02of metro surge led to a pretty
15:05substantial increase in
15:05Minnesota's unemployment rate
15:06crossing the national rate for
15:07the first time since 2007.
15:13This is not felt equally
15:15across the state. So we've
15:17seen particularly large
15:17increases in unemployment
15:18among black Mnnesotans, other
15:22communities of color as well.
15:23So rise from 4.8% to 7.6% for
15:26black Minnesotans. All of this
15:28making it a particularly
15:29difficult labor market for
15:30people of color in the state.
15:33Now, there are a couple o
15:35ways of understanding why and
15:35unemployment rate can go up.
15:37It may be the case that you've
15:39got more people were trying to
15:41get into the labor market find
15:42jobs that actually can drive
15:43up the unemployment rate.
15:44That's not the case here.
15:46Unfortunately seen exact
15:48opposite at the same time that
15:49unemployment is going up.
15:51We're seeing a huge number of
15:53people leaving the labor
15:54market saying that they're no
15:55longer interested finding
15:57jobs. So Minnesota's labor
15:58force participation rate fell
16:01the from January to July of
16:052026, the largest six-month
16:05decreasing our labor force
16:07participation rate since at
16:07least 2000. So we have people
16:09leaving. The labor market.
16:13People who are losing jobs.
16:16All of this creates a much
16:16softer, much weaker labor
16:17market, which again puts
16:19downward pressure on wages.
16:24just ask. So just understand
16:24that better. So if
16:27unemployment is rising but
16:27labor force, but number of
16:28people seeking work is
16:29falling.
16:31>> Has to mean that the number
16:32of jobs available Is that
16:36okay? That's the only way that
16:37that would be possible. You
16:38have fewer people seeking jobs
16:39but also fewer people in job.
16:40So there's more people
16:41actively seeking jobs and more
16:43people.
16:43>> We're leaving the labor
16:44market completely. So it's a
16:47loss on both sites.
16:59>> 48 minutes and So of
17:00course, he's puts downward
17:00pressure on
17:01>> wages so we can then talk
17:02about wages. The news here is
17:06also not good
17:07inflation-adjusted wages rose
17:08about the median wage for
17:10inflation-adjusted wages rose
17:12about $0.50 for the 2024 to
17:132025 and then fell during the
17:15first 7 months of from the
17:19beginning of 24 to the middle
17:21of 26. We've basically wage
17:22growth at the median level in
17:23Minnesota. Again, this is not
17:28true for all Minnesotans. So
17:30wages have stagnated for the
17:3110th percentile for the 58%
17:33out, but not for the 90th
17:35percentile, not for the
17:36wealthiest Minnesotans were
17:37wages went up 4% over those 2
17:38years. What this means is that
17:42inequality has widened
17:43substantially in the last 2
17:44years. And it's important to
17:45point this out because
17:46contrary to what some of us
17:47might have felt, inequality
17:50actually would do
17:51substantially over the last
17:51decade in Minnesota. So
17:54relative to the 90th
17:56percentile 10th percentile
17:57wages, low wages went up. From
18:002016 to 2024, it's only these
18:04last 2 years that we have
18:04started to see this reversal
18:06again back towards the 90th
18:09percentile, seeing their wages
18:10go up faster than the 10th
18:10percentile. That is in many
18:15ways a return to normal. And
18:19we can best understand this by
18:21understanding how wrkers are
18:23actually taking home the
18:24fruits of their labor. So this
18:26is a graph that shows changes
18:29in productivity and pay since
18:301979. Productivity, basically,
18:33meaning how much are workers
18:34produce? How much of the
18:36creating so since 1979,
18:39Minnesota workers producing
18:40the 6% more almost doubling
18:41how much sure they're putting
18:43out economically. But they're
18:44taking home just 36% more in
18:45wages. Tells us that somebody
18:51else is reaping the rewards of
18:52workers later. So school is
18:56taking this increasingly large
18:57gap between productivity and
18:58pay. You may have already
19:03guessed the answer here, but
19:03this is the So we look at, for
19:07example, the CEO to worker pay
19:07ratio. Has gone up in
19:12Minnesota from around 45 to
19:16The other CEOs making around
19:1840 to 45 more than typical
19:19worker to 325 in 2025, we will
19:24get some select Minnesota
19:25companies Target United Health
19:27Best Buy 3 shows a quite a bit
19:29higher between 550 in 7 800
19:31roughly in target. The other
19:36statistics understanding this
19:36is in the United States is
19:39that the business that labor
19:41share a business income has
19:42hit all time low. Workers are
19:46taking home. Less of what
19:48businesses are taking in than
19:49they ever have in the history
19:50of this country, at least as
19:51as far back as we have the
19:54statistics. So if look back to
19:59for example, pay and
20:00productivity will more closely
20:00intertwined in 2000. W can
20:03see that the labor share of
20:05business income was around. 62
20:0763% today. It's down to 53%.
20:11So all of this is bad news. We
20:13could probably just right line
20:14to that. One bright spot that
20:19I do want to highlight is
20:21unions in Minnesota. So you
20:25need coverage rates rose in
20:292025. Think one can 14.7 to
20:3015.8%. 57.6% increase. We're
20:33also seeing union wages rise.
20:36So when I talked about we just
20:38stagnating, we actually see
20:39here is from 24 to 25 wages
20:41for union members went out.
20:44Wages for their non-union
20:45peers went down. And so that's
20:47where our stagnation comes
20:48from. This from the gap
20:50between union workers and
20:52non-union Workers, of course,
20:54union densities, not high
20:54enough to dag everyone else's
20:56wages up, but it is working
20:58for those people who are part
20:58of unions. So now we can put
21:03these 2 pieces together, wages
21:04and prices. This is what the
21:07affordability gap looks like
21:08Ramsey County. thing that's
21:13important t understand here,
21:14the affordability gap got
21:15substantially better in Ramsey
21:18County during the pandemic.
21:19And that is largely because
21:20wages, even though prices were
21:22going up, we're actually going
21:22up faster. It may not felt
21:24that way. And this was very
21:26difficult campaign talking
21:26point. But it is true that
21:29affordability improved from
21:32many Minnesotans since 2023.
21:34Now starting to see widening
21:35again to the point today where
21:39if you're making median
21:40household earnings and Ramsey
21:41County as a full-time and
21:43part-time worker, you're
21:45making $5500 less than you
21:46need to just your basic cost
21:48of living. Right. So for
21:49things like child care, health
21:51care, none of the extras that
21:52might come on top of that
21:53count number just thanks, here
21:56and Israel's ball.
22:00>> A question so I see a lot
22:01of the data includes the cost
22:03of living for 2 adults. One
22:09child with meat versus median
22:10annual earnings earnings for
22:10full-time and part-time
22:12worker. have 2 questions is
22:15the assumption that a family
22:15has a full-time and part-time
22:16worker? Is that really common?
22:21And then second question, it's
22:21just with one kid. I don't
22:25know what the average number
22:27of children is that a
22:27household has in Ramsey
22:28County, but I would assume
22:30that this gap would be worse.
22:33This cap will be larger for a
22:33lot families because the
22:37income would be saying the
22:38same they would be more
22:39children. But based on the
22:39data that you have. Yeah.
22:43Councilmember Jones, thank you
22:43for the question.
22:47>> So this is based on what
22:48Dede calls the typical family,
22:51OK? So they're understanding
22:52is that this is the most
22:53representative of what a
22:54Minnesota family would look
22:55like. The one full-time
22:55part-time worker. One kit,
22:59whether that's true in Ramsey
23:00County that have to look to
23:01see what family composition
23:03looks like. But it's always
23:04going to be tricky to say that
23:05this is what an average family
23:06looks like right? You are
23:10right that if it's 2 kids and
23:11I'll get into this a little
23:12bit, the affordability gap,
23:16why substantially kids for
23:17anyone who has them are very
23:19expensive. And so it does
23:21create substantially higher
23:21basic costs of living. Yeah.
23:22Thank yu. Yeah. So when we
23:28look at this affordability
23:28gap, Ramsey County does stand
23:30out. Unfortunately, it's the
23:323rd largest affordability gap
23:33of any county in the state.
23:35When we look at the sort of
23:37median earnings to basic cst
23:38of living for a typical
23:39family. also interesting right
23:45interrupt you. But it looks
23:46like it's hard to see each of
23:47the counties that contain 2,
23:48but that Ramsey County is also
23:48an outlier. In terms of the 7
23:50county metro area off and were
23:523rd worst. But we're behind
23:53Winona and race here or not.
23:55>> Our pers, as you might
23:56think about it. I don't know
23:57if that's true with some of
23:58the other data, but it seems
23:59even even worse of an outlier
23:59in
24:00>> that way.
24:01>> Yeah, I have to look back.
24:04But my recollection is that
24:05have been actually features a
24:07similar cost of living. So in
24:08that case, what we'd be
24:09talking about is a distinction
24:11on wages, not on price.
24:11interesting. So again, to
24:16Councilmember Joe's point,
24:18this is looking at a typical
24:21family so we could change some
24:22of the assumptions here. If we
24:24talk about to full-time
24:25workers making the median
24:25wage, for example, you can see
24:28there's now a surplus would
24:29make $8600 more. If you only
24:30have one child. But we could
24:32also look at other ideas. What
24:35if you didn't make the median
24:36wage? What if you made the
24:38minimum wge? So if you made
24:40the minimum wage and you had
24:40to full-time workers and one
24:42child, he would make $25,000
24:44less than you need to meet
24:45your basic costs of living. If
24:48council member just pointed to
24:50kids instead you make over
24:52$50,000 less than what you
24:54need to meet your basic cost
24:56of living. And this is using,
24:58I should say, the same Paul
24:59minimum wage. So what what can
25:02we do about this? I want to
25:06start by talking but
25:06unfortunate asymmetry that
25:07exists. Which is people see
25:11wage gains as their own
25:13achievement in prices is
25:14something that happens to
25:14them. So I don't envy any of
25:16your position to try and
25:17figure out how to deal with
25:18this as a governing body.
25:22People find it difficult to
25:24see that government has
25:26provided or done something to
25:26increase their wages. But they
25:27generally feel like government
25:28is responsible for the prices
25:29that they pay. In some it ways
25:31that actually inversely true
25:33to reality. Which is that
25:37addressing prices pretty hard
25:38for government addressing
25:38wages is much easier. And I
25:43say that because addressing
25:44prices has a couple of tricky
25:45aspects to the first is prices
25:49go inevitably so we our
25:51economy works. So if you're
25:52promising people that prices
25:53are going down are going to go
25:56down, you're basically selling
25:56them a false promise. You
25:58might be able to slow price
26:00growth, but actually bringing
26:02prices down other than
26:03something like gas right now
26:04would be pretty tough. It also
26:07can create bad incentives, the
26:09way that we try to do with
26:09price is often by squishing
26:11labor costs. Well, if you
26:13squish labor cost now would
26:14use people's wages, you've
26:15done nothing to address
26:16affordability. You just
26:17brought down prices and wages
26:18at the same time. The other
26:21thing is that there's just not
26:23a ton that city hall can do to
26:24address prices. A lot of these
26:25are national issues. Sure all
26:27of you would like to try and
26:29stop the run more. But I'm
26:30sure any of you have the
26:31capacity to do so. And if you
26:33do, I really question I
26:35haven't done And the final
26:39thing is it's tough to be
26:40precise, addressing prices. So
26:40if you want to bring down the
26:41price of eggs, for example,
26:43you're impacting the entire
26:44labor supply chain. So that
26:47could be CEO pay. But it could
26:48also be your grocery worker
26:51pay your your farm. Okay. All
26:53of those things come into play
26:54when we're talking about
26:56prices, we just can be much
26:58more targeted. All right. You
27:00can actually address we just
27:02specific parts of that supply
27:03chain entirety it. In terms of
27:06specific ideas. On the price
27:11side. And I think you'll hear
27:11more about this. There are
27:12ways to think about creating
27:13stronger public alternatives
27:15to drive down private costs or
27:17at least create public
27:18alternatives that might. Help
27:21fill gaps left by failing
27:22private markets. So strong
27:25public child care options,
27:26even public grocery stores,
27:28right? Those are where we're
27:29seeing some of these ideas
27:29come in. But on the wage side,
27:31there's a lot more levers to
27:33pull so you can boost worker
27:35power, right? You can make it
27:36easier for people to join
27:37unions. You can create more
27:38union incentives within city
27:42spending. You can create
27:43sectoral bargaining so that
27:44more people have the power
27:45that they need to bargain for
27:49higher wages. Remember the one
27:50place where we're not seeing
27:51wage declines. The on the
27:52wealthy is among union workers
27:52in the state. You can protect
27:56immigrant workers. If we do
27:58not do this, we will hugely
27:59reduce the pwer of the
28:01current labor market and that
28:01will assuredly drive down
28:04wages for everybody. And then
28:05finally, you can raising calls
28:07minimum wage, which is the
28:07most targeted thing to do. And
28:10I will just say this as
28:11clearly as I can. Raising the
28:15minimum wage does not rduce
28:16employment and it does not
28:16mean we raise prices. We can
28:19see this by looking at
28:20examples all over the country,
28:22but ICE site one from
28:23California recently, which
28:25created a $20 minimum wage for
28:28fast-food workers. What we saw
28:30there was a 12% increase in
28:30wages and a 2% increase in
28:33prices. That's the kind of
28:34solution that addresses
28:35affordability and really
28:36meaningful way. Thank you. if
28:41there's time for questions
28:41would be happy to take them.
28:47>> Local for questions and if
28:48that's all right. Thank you.
28:50Thank you so much. I'm going
28:52to invite on on Luis up from
28:53the Alliance.
29:16>> my name had a so you see
29:17him kind I am the housing
29:17coalition organizer with the
29:18Alliance for Metropolitan
29:20Stability. I appreciate the
29:20opportunity to be here to
29:21speak to you I live in
29:26Minneapolis now, but I am the
29:27same color I grew up on the
29:29West side in the east side so
29:30that get to be back home say
29:31point to be speaking to you
29:32up. Yet today. I'm going to
29:35focus in on time, housing and
29:39the impact of housing
29:39cost-burdened households in
29:40Saint Paul before that. Want
29:43to share a little bit more
29:43about who my organization is.
29:46So the alliance is a member
29:47based coalition based
29:48organization that is focused
29:48on. Advancing.
29:54Intersectionality is between
29:55geography, race culture.
29:57Mainly within the Twin Cities
29:58region but are growing to also
29:59expand into Minnesota.
30:00Broccoli. We do this pursuit
30:04of our collective liberation
30:05for all bipoc and racialized
30:06communities in the state of
30:07Minnesota and do this in
30:09partnership with many of our
30:10partner organizations that
30:11located across the So this
30:15kind of focus and that a stand
30:17in the conversation today One,
30:20a kind of ground us on median
30:21rents for residency in the
30:22city of Paul. A-basin housing
30:26links data which they do based
30:28on average highs and shadow
30:31market rents. So rants that
30:32aren't necessarily account it
30:33on the market that folks can
30:35look at traditionally have
30:36accounted that media. Renton
30:38City of Saint Paul is $1247.
30:43For a one-bedroom apartment,
30:45one-bedroom unit. It is $1095
30:49or 2. But Jim, it is $1382 for
30:523 bedrooms $1918. So just name
30:57in what the median rent is. I
30:58also want to focus in on how
31:01how many households people are
31:02already cost burden as it is
31:02today. Currently 20% of Saint
31:07Paul homeowners are cost
31:09burdened that they're paying
31:1030% more of their income on
31:12housing. And 49% of Saint Paul
31:14renter households are also
31:16concentrated. So a majority of
31:18people, households, rental
31:19households are already cost
31:20burden. As have this
31:21conversation today.
31:25>> So going back to what I
31:29medium, medium rent is it
31:30safe? Also starting at $1247.
31:33This would mean someone would
31:34have to make you really just
31:35to pay rent. At least 14,000,
31:39$924 just to py at the median
31:41rate. Using some assumptions
31:46that we before someone to only
31:49be paying 50% of their of
31:49wages or less leaving out that
31:53utilities insurance that are
31:54using now kind of bucket in
31:57with rental outside of this
31:59conversation. So just focus on
31:59the rental cost of the unit.
32:03Assuming that folks are
32:04working 40 hours a week. 52 52
32:05weeks a year. That's our
32:09assumption. That's not
32:09everyone's reality in the
32:10workforce. And then also a
32:13recognition that this data is
32:152 years behind. So really, if
32:16if we want to look at the
32:19median probably should be
32:21looking at $1300 with a
32:22inflation increase from 2024.
32:23To 26. So kind of what I want
32:29to still Littleton For renters
32:32making. The medium medium
32:33rent. 1000 to find at $247,
32:38they would need to yearly may
32:39a yearly salary of $47,879.
32:45That means that this would
32:47this would make up the almost
32:49$50,000 that they would have
32:50to make just to pay their
32:50rent. In addition to the other
32:51costs that we heard from the
32:53presentation before and we'll
32:53hear from the presentation
32:54activity. Which residents will
32:58have to make in the city of
32:59Saint Paul to not because
33:00Britain and to be able to
33:01afford their housing at
33:03minimum. $23.98 almost $24 and
33:06wages an hour. And to not be
33:09considered cost-burdened in
33:10the city of Saint Paul. Even
33:13if we use a little bit more
33:14relaxed math instead of
33:16focusing on 30% and we're
33:17focused 3rd. So 33%, it is
33:19still comes down to $21 or
33:22$21.58 just under $22 an This
33:26is just for folks and not
33:27because spurred anymore. This
33:29isn't this isn't excelling in
33:30any past. And the guys just
33:32that little cap. just question
33:35of
33:39>> Thank Cuncil president
33:42we're the
33:48>> the costs that you are
33:48providing or the.
33:52>> Sorry, the that net or
33:52gross income. If 47 49,000 or
33:58something like that, Get this.
33:59I believe it's gross gross.
34:01It. So that's think I'm just
34:12so for the average apartment
34:12rent think not including
34:13utilities, not icluding
34:15utilities, are insurance costs
34:16into that. renters insurance
34:18and utilities of the unit
34:19itself. so just solely the
34:19price of the unit.
34:26>> So moving into recognizing
34:28where we're at where the level
34:29of cost burden isn't ready for
34:31residents want to focus in on
34:34what what work, whether
34:35Congress isn't is around. What
34:35is affordable housing.
34:37>> Affordable housing usually
34:38tends to be. Developments are
34:42focused on 50 to 60% area.
34:43Median income. Is he will
34:47break down to $1233 per month
34:51in rent that someone would
34:52have to make at 50%. Am Any
34:57properties that are coming
34:58online 50%? Am I? It is a part
34:59the tenant to have to make it
35:01least $1250 a month just to
35:03pay for the rental cost of
35:04that, you get it doesn't. It
35:05doesn't account the utility.
35:06insurance costs. What this
35:11breaks down to a yearly, the
35:13yearly salary would mean that
35:14someone have to would have to
35:15make $49,220 minimum just to
35:16be able to for the unit
35:19accounting to $23 and $0.74 an
35:20hour. As we move to 60% am I
35:26properties this would mean
35:27that a resident would have to
35:27make $1479 or $59,160 a year
35:36accounting to $28. And $0.44
35:36an
35:40>> So with the data, I think
35:42if you make argument could be
35:44made that with the minimum
35:45wage that city people has
35:48presently.
35:48>> It is requiring and it's to
35:49take on the burden of being
35:52cost-burdened making more
35:53wages just to pay the minimum
35:54that they need to pay just in
35:54right.
35:58>> It also has a clear
36:00recognition that as as
36:02production continues in the
36:03city of Paul to to continue to
36:05build more affordable housing
36:07in the the conversation around
36:08what is affordable housing
36:09needs to used go further and
36:13that we truly meeting the
36:14needs of folks that every
36:15because Britain city of of of
36:15Saint Paul at a 50% and my
36:18building at at the data that
36:20it was presented today.
36:20They're already caught. There
36:22concert outside of those units
36:25which forces folks who look
36:26for units at a cheaper rate.
36:27In most cases. Can can be
36:31assumed that are not in the
36:31best conditions are are, you
36:34know, not be maintained at the
36:35at the state that they need to
36:36be to So in summary. The
36:41median right again for the
36:42city of Saint Paul has roughly
36:45$1247. This is based data from
36:492024, this means that it would
36:51have to make just below
36:52$15,000 again, just to pay for
36:53that rent. It would mean that
36:56residents accounts to make at
36:58least $50,000 in annual
37:02salary, recognizing that that
37:04an hour. down to $23 ad $0.90
37:07>> Want to focus in as well.
37:12>> Currently, believe 33% of
37:14Saint Paul households make
37:15$50,000 or less based on the
37:16Minnesota compass so. Although
37:21medium, what our media rental
37:21rates are currently folks, 30%
37:25of the city already cannot
37:25make. The median rental costs
37:30just bsed on salary and wages
37:32have hope bring whole. As we
37:32saw that, issue. Why did you
37:39want to give Thank you to our
37:42friends at the Center of Urban
37:43and Regional Affairs really
37:44compiled data and give us
37:44summer clearance and
37:45understanding of what the data
37:47in Saint Paul means, how how
37:48it ends a kind of moving. And
37:51also wanted to give credit to
37:52the Minnesota Compass Project
37:54how the leak for a public
37:54sources as well. And then
37:56thank you to this body. Thank
37:58you so much. question
38:03>> Yeah, just haven't really,
38:04actually just really quick
38:05when you said what percent of
38:07Saint Paul residents under
38:0850,000.
38:09>> I believe it's 33. Thank
38:14you so much of of simpler
38:15Presidents. Yeah. Thank you.
38:22>> All right. Moving right
38:23along last, but definitely not
38:24the U.S.. We have folks to
38:27come speak from child care for
38:30all so welcome our speakers up
38:31to the podium. Please
38:35introduce yourselves.
38:39>> they stick with Do it?
38:43>> High as consumers think you
38:44so much for having us today.
38:48We're here child care for all
38:50talk about how childcare
38:51access affordability and Saint
38:51Paul. I'm Maria. I the
38:55director of Dream. A Child
38:56Development Center in Saint
38:59Paul. custody. district and I
39:03my mom started rainbow in 1988
39:05because there was a lack of
39:07quality full-time affordable
39:10childcare. Spoiler alert. It
39:10still exists and that they're
39:11going to be talking about
39:12today. The issue. So this. I
39:16want to thank the other
39:17senators to I feel like you're
39:18really TSA because everything
39:19you talked about exactly into
39:20what we're going to be
39:21discussed as well. So that all
39:22it Colleagues here just with
39:28>> Hi, my name Albert Everlane
39:30and I live Frank Simple. You
39:34well, actually live here at
39:34well, their center. a father
39:41of kid who has experience with
39:42child care. And I tell you
39:44about my story.
39:49>> Good afternoon Council. My
39:50name is Mark. They get a I'm
39:53Alexa him. Residents in
39:55district. I and the mother of
39:582 children. I have experience
40:00paying for child care as well
40:01as working in childcare
40:02centers. early intervention
40:03teacher with simple schools.
40:04But I am sure to on my own
40:05accord and not representative
40:08schools with my the
40:10information I share today.
40:11Thank you for having us. Thank
40:12you for being here.
40:17>> so first we're going to
40:18just sort set the stage for
40:20you all about how important
40:21early childhood is. Many of
40:23you that part of why these
40:23conversations already. So I
40:26will take too much of your but
40:27we always have to go back.
40:29Whenever we talk about child
40:30care is super important that
40:31we put the kids at the center,
40:33right. So I think it's really
40:33important that we remember
40:34that 90% of children's brain
40:37develop every person's brain
40:38develops before age 5. So 80%
40:41of a child's brain develops
40:42before age 3. So I know some
40:45as we hear things like, oh, my
40:46gosh. Can you believe child
40:48care is more expensive in
40:48college and that's really
40:50expensive. And that is wild
40:51and their things policies we
40:52can create that could change
40:53that. But shouldn't it because
40:5690% of our brain develops
40:58before were 5. So we should be
41:00investing as much of our
41:01resources as we possibly can
41:02into this stage in life. Some
41:08of these the slide here just
41:09illustrates some different
41:11statistics about the
41:12importance of early cildhood.
41:13So children are more likely to
41:15meet or exceed great double
41:16standards when they have had
41:16access to early learning.
41:18There graduate from high
41:20school. Children are less
41:23likely to be facing the
41:24special education if they
41:25receive early intervention. So
41:25Murtha's fell for it and
41:29high-quality programs from
41:30children birth to 5 can
41:31deliver a 13% per year return
41:32investment. Adverse a 7 to 10%
41:35return from previous
41:36established preschool programs
41:37for 3 to 4 year-olds. So I'm
41:39just really focusing that.
41:42This needs to be comprehensive
41:43from birth to 5, not just Pre
41:44K. And there's a ripple effect
41:49when it comes to both high
41:50quality and poor quality child
41:51care. So it's not just that we
41:54need warehouses for kids
41:55people go to work, right? We
41:56need these to be really rich,
41:57robust environments for
41:57children so their brains can
41:59develop when children are not
42:02given the opportunity to have
42:03those types robust eergence
42:09it can lead to whole slew
42:11issues like we could brain
42:12development, floor,
42:13educational achievement,
42:14family, economic instability.
42:15So many of you probably in
42:18this room have young kids and
42:19know that if you don't have
42:20childcare, you can't go to
42:22work, which means you can't
42:24make money, which means a
42:24whole so things for your
42:27family leaves address health
42:28incomes. And there's an
42:29increased likelihood children
42:31and families, people needing
42:32social safety net dependence,
42:32which it's frightening to me.
42:39With to Albert. He's going to
42:41a little more about the costs
42:42for families. This a fall. So
42:46I think it goes without saying
42:47that we think we know health
42:49care costs are really, really
42:49super expensive.
42:51>> Right. And, you know, part
42:55of the reason why it's so
42:57expensive is one teacher pay
42:59and benefits because one we
42:59have to pay for the healthcare
43:00ensure insurance rate as well
43:03as like competitive wages.
43:04Because if we don't pay our
43:07child care providers, what
43:08they are worth, they will go
43:08to a different take center
43:10where they would get more
43:11money rght, as well as like
43:14an offense and things of that
43:14nature. The second one is
43:16licensing and compliance
43:20because all child care
43:21providers need to licensing
43:23standards as well as like
43:24maintain background checks as
43:25well as training as well as
43:28like ongoing inspections and
43:31nature, including health and
43:32safety requirements on.
43:33There's also like a small type
43:36of 10 15%, which, you know. Is
43:39the supplies and curriculum
43:42that teacher kids like, hey,
43:43this is like what social
43:44skills are or this is how we
43:45can use some scissors to cut
43:47out. Let's start right. Or
43:49this is like a star or
43:51matching shapes for that or
43:51what have you right and then
43:56the next one is because males
43:58because cn't kids lunches to
44:00our kids. And so on the day
44:01care so lunches are provided
44:05and or snacks or dinner depape
44:06on the hours of the day care.
44:08All right. And then
44:11administrative operation costs
44:12like Steph scheduling HR
44:15daycare providers have a
44:17teacher, right? Which some
44:19money, right, as well as talk
44:21technology, communication and
44:23marketing to make sure that
44:24kids get into there, senator
44:26to make them more money as
44:28well as to like give them a
44:30place for the kid to go and
44:34then facility costs like rent
44:36or mortgage or, you know that
44:37utilities can be little bit
44:39more expensive to to the Iran
44:41war, right, as well as
44:43insurance because insurance
44:43premiums are definitely going
44:44up as well too. And then any
44:47maintenance and repairs that
44:48are needed. And I I think set
44:53up fast as it can see. And
44:58average cost fr child care
44:59centers. $23,452. Where is the
45:04Minnesota, you know,
45:05university, Minnesota
45:05tuitions, like $19,312. I went
45:10to a private school and this
45:11is as much as a private
45:12school. But I think it's money
45:13well spent when you get down
45:14to it you know, the from those
45:20that you because of care
45:22because of the cost being so
45:23expensive, you just can't take
45:23out a student loan for self
45:24care and that makes the new
45:27families. You know. Go through
45:29impossible choices right? So
45:32just like leaving the
45:34workforce or giving up your or
45:37refinancing your home or going
45:38thousands of dollars into
45:39credit card debt or just
45:42general to help pay for child
45:43care costs. And I think it's
45:47important to note, too, like
45:48disproportionately, it's women
45:48who are taking you know, who
45:52are forced you stay at home.
45:55Mom, straight where, as you
45:55know, we want them to go out
45:57and get the jobs and make more
45:59money right and the federal
46:06forward ability standard for
46:06childcare is like some percent
46:07of like a family's income in
46:10Saint Paul, a family with one
46:11child. So shes my family would
46:15need $335,000 a year for the
46:18street. True. My wife and I
46:21only make 120,000, right? So
46:22again, that's very you know,
46:25key. So to say, and, you know,
46:29in Saint Paul, Minnesota, we
46:32invest the least of their
46:33families when they have the
46:33least amount of wealth and,
46:36you know, when you know the
46:40know, when they're first to 5,
46:43right? So some stories from
46:48some, you know, moms and
46:49parents and family members
46:50right? One by Kelly, my family
46:52and I struggle to find
46:53available care for our first
46:55child encountering waitlist
46:56set several same poll centers
46:58when I 12 weeks pregnant. Once
47:01we welcomed our second child,
47:04our child care expenses
47:05comprise 90% of my take-home
47:06pay and resorted to
47:07refinancing your mortgage to
47:07help cover. Tese costs. Each
47:09month. And we know. I'm a
47:15licensed teacher. I left the
47:16classroom when I had a baby
47:16planning to stay home for the
47:17first 2 years to avoid the
47:22figure I could either go to
47:23work, take care of other
47:24people's kids and make no
47:26money or stay at home. Take
47:27care of my own kids and make
47:28no money. I haven't enter
47:31enter the classroom despite my
47:31job offer because I have to
47:32have had to put both of my
47:34children in front and
47:38preschooler in childcare. And
47:39I wouldn't make enough to
47:39afford it. And for some time I
47:45can't afford to pay 500 a week
47:48for child care for my son. So
47:49I think my friends and family
47:50to Washington for much less
47:50and wonder every day who will
47:52watch in the it's exhausting.
47:55And if I can share my story
47:56about it. My son was born
48:01during the pandemic. And
48:04during that my wife and I were
48:08on leave from our jobs because
48:08we're both mental health
48:09therapists and luckily I was
48:13able to go to work. She was
48:15able stay with my son until
48:21August September. During that
48:22time we were trying to find
48:24day care center, which we're
48:25very lucky and actually found
48:25a center that said we actually
48:27have a small we must. And
48:29here, you know, we're thinking
48:32maybe October, which we think,
48:33hey, that's great. But we're
48:35only allowed to do 4 days out
48:35of the 5 day work week which
48:38like okay, not ideal, but
48:39that's okay. Right? We send my
48:45son to a Spanish version taker
48:49because of my Mexican heritage
48:50and want them learn the
48:50language. So to say right? And
48:54we find taker program. We send
48:55him to it starting off. It was
48:59around 550 every 2 weeks,
49:03which if you do, the math is
49:04like around like a mortgage
49:05rent teen a spot. Great. And
49:09then at the end when we were
49:10done, it was around $778.
49:12Every 2 weeks ago. It's a
49:16mortgage that we could have
49:16been putting towards our house
49:19and because we were doing work
49:21on or how such as new roof or
49:22new sighting, all that money
49:23had to go to. That. We had go
49:27to pay for new improvements on
49:28their house right and you
49:35know, it was interesting
49:36because like it was it was
49:37good for, you know, the time
49:38like there is organic meals
49:40right? The center teachers are
49:41very nice to my son. However,
49:44towards the end, we started
49:45noticing things changing,
49:47especially in 2025. we noticed
49:50that his teachers that he had
49:52in previous classrooms are no
49:54longer there. And the 2
49:55teachers that were in his
49:56classroom abruptly quits.
50:00Winds chatting with one of his
50:01teachers. You know, she was
50:06very saddened. We communicate
50:07to Lakers. Very sad for her to
50:08leave because my son really
50:11love his daycare teachers,
50:12right? She even asked us like
50:15a win. You know, I'm missing
50:16them. some of us it right. Can
50:16I emailed them cover them? A
50:18letter, right? So it's very
50:20important to recognize like,
50:21hey, like the relationship is
50:22there. M son made and then
50:26also the relationships gone.
50:28It's like, you know, it's it's
50:28a loss when you get down to
50:29us. And one thing that they
50:36said, you know, cause, you
50:37know, a month sentence between
50:38my wife and I right it was
50:43part one of the problems was,
50:44you know, the wage peace
50:45because they were getting paid
50:46enough. So they had to move on
50:49right? Another thing that
50:51inhalation super concerned was
50:57there are no protections for
50:58them to their immigration
50:59status which, you know, mates
51:04sense my wife and I because it
51:08because of the times that
51:09we're living right and the
51:14thing, though, that I kind of
51:15into that, too, is like the.
51:17The thing that my son Bill do.
51:20We have redo it again. Now we
51:22have to build up the trust
51:23again with was a new teacher
51:24that he does not necessarily
51:24know right if his teacher that
51:29left knew how to help him when
51:31he was having a meltdown, the
51:32new teacher doesn't know what
51:32to do. And then all of a
51:33sudden he's refusing to get
51:35out of bed and go to the state
51:36care center. Luckily, we only
51:37had it. Help him through this
51:42for like 5 months, but they
51:43will still not a good thing.
51:45And I think it's important,
51:48you know, to that. When. These
51:56experiences that we've had
51:57read to my family. I've had.
51:59You know, I don't blame
52:01anybody on this. I don't blame
52:04the teachers. I don't blame
52:04what's going on right? Rather.
52:09I think it raises an important
52:10question like are we giving
52:11for child care providers, the
52:15resources, the supports
52:16protections that they need in
52:17order to do their job. Well,
52:20enough freight because it is
52:21stressful when you get down to
52:23it as well as making sure that
52:25they are in distress because
52:26our kids can definitely pick
52:27up on stressors, which if my
52:30kid is, you know, if I pick
52:31him up from like that day care
52:34provider and I feel that he
52:35stressed that shows me that,
52:36hey, there's a lot of stress
52:37going on in the state are
52:38center. And I would encourage
52:43the council to craft policies
52:43for childcare to support. Not
52:47only the centers, but also the
52:48child providers. Thank you.
52:53>> Whenever I hear stories
52:54like Albert's are the ones
52:57that are quoted in our sights
52:57here. It always strikes me how
52:59deeply personal and unique
53:00they are and how and how
53:02universal they are because we
53:04really have a systemic issue
53:06when it comes to child care in
53:07our city, in our state and our
53:07country. And I think like to
53:10share experiences that hours
53:11talking about I really
53:15important for us to name not
53:16his personal problems, but as
53:18systemic problems that we hope
53:19to fix as policymakers. so
53:23tell talk a little bit really
53:23tell educators
53:26>> most of the people that are
53:28doing the hard work of early
53:29child education are part of
53:30the global majority, meaning
53:31that there are people of
53:32color. Just fortunately, women
53:33of color. Many most early
53:40childhood educators are living
53:41in poverty themselves are not
53:42making a thriving weight.
53:44They're more prone to stress,
53:44illness and injury. And many
53:46have up. Up to 90% of early
53:50educators. Report one or more
53:54aces score compared to 57. 55
53:551% of Minnesota residents
53:58which i you're not familiar,
53:59says measures childhood
53:59trauma. The average wage in
54:05Saint Paul, friend in need is
54:0818 to $20 an hour for early
54:08educators. And if you remember
54:10back, I told you all that 90%
54:12of a child's brain happens
54:13before age 5 and we're paying
54:16people just about what the
54:17minimum wage. Is this a little
54:18bit more than that? And we
54:20heard some really compelling
54:21statistics about how this is
54:22not enough to be able to
54:23afford your rent, let alone
54:25bill generational wealth by
54:25getting home. Or even afford
54:29fill up your tank of gas.
54:30Sometimes. So. Most time,
54:34don't have access to benefits
54:37that are robust, like health
54:37insurance paid time off. Take
54:39the case policies. Things like
54:41that because the industry is
54:44so Mr. Stretched for families
54:46can't afford to pay more. And
54:46providers can't afford to.
54:49Make any less. They need to be
54:50became more. So I different
54:55side here, but I wanted to
54:55make sure. Actually work. I
54:58think is you?
55:04>> Okay. I wanted to highlight
55:04with that last slide. So
55:05average wage being 18 to $20
55:08an hour.
55:09>> Even and early childhood
55:10teacher is relying on snap
55:13another county benefits with
55:14that still means is that many
55:16teachers are one car breaking
55:17down or one car accident away.
55:18>> From.
55:22>> Having a stop work breaks,
55:23if you can't get to work, you
55:24can pick up your kids. You
55:25can't. And that really don't
55:27affect that. We all know that
55:28that has. So then when yeah,
55:29and we see children then
55:30wondering what am I to to
55:32leave. And this is a
55:34collective right, like a
55:34failure of will to support and
55:38honor collectively the women
55:40like the value of women of
55:40color.
55:46>> member nw, I know the city
55:47of Saint Paul. We're all
55:48really invested revitalizing
55:50downtown.
55:52>> That type of robust,
55:54revitalization really can't
55:55happen without affordable
55:57accessible childcare. Sesame
55:58of last year in Minnesota lost
55:592.1 billion with a B dollars
56:01in the economy. Just
56:04>> Toddler talker crisis, not
56:05even including preschool or
56:05like after-school cildcare
56:09programs. There are about 6700
56:10children roll the 87 license
56:14facilities. So even a
56:15conservative estimate, that's
56:16like 676 jobs right there,
56:17just from child care centers
56:19along not including how many
56:21parents and found it was that
56:21can then go to work. So the
56:24ripple effect is really huge
56:25on the economy in terms of
56:27childcare.
56:29>> 7 longstanding childcare
56:29centers, close town in Saint
56:30Paul last year. These were
56:34longstanding center, some of
56:35them around for 90 years. 75
56:36years. And all of those 6
56:37stated that the reason that
56:38they close down is because
56:40they can't.
56:41>> Families can afford to pay
56:43more and they can't afford to
56:45pay their teachers enough to
56:48both recruit high-quality
56:49experience. Educators and to
56:53keep them in the field where
56:54we shot of teachers leave the
56:56field is leave the workforce
56:58like leave the center. It's
56:59usually to go to a whole
57:00different field, even if it's
57:01not where they went to school
57:03for, even that's not what they
57:04actually want to do. But
57:04because they have no choice
57:06because the most they can hope
57:07to earn a $20 an hour for the
57:07longevity of their career.
57:13>> I think cruising to be
57:16perfect and time just matter
57:17of about 7 and a left for the
57:18whole conversation. Okay.
57:18Okay. This out.
57:21>> You guys have the site will
57:22let you read through it.
57:24Basically investing in early
57:25adds money to families pockets
57:29not just in the short term,
57:29but over the course of years.
57:30So one study show that after
57:326, 6 years after families had
57:34access to universal childcare,
57:35they were mking $60,000 more
57:36as as a household. Pretty
57:38compelling stuff. So no for
57:38him.
57:42>> So just like we saw the
57:43cost of an infant care
57:44relative to the cost, the U of
57:46M right, Representative Pinto
57:47says a soft and that we invest
57:50the least ad families when in
57:52their lifetime, in the
57:53careers, in their careers,
57:54they have the least amount of
57:54savings to afford it. We don't
57:56have FAFSA fairly care. We
58:00don't have federal and state
58:01grants and loans to pay for
58:02it. And that matters. So So
58:11when we think about where do
58:12we pass the buck? You know,
58:13there's no thank goodness that
58:17as we with inroads and calls
58:19presentation
58:20that has productivity has
58:23increased wages have not kept
58:25up. We also know that there is
58:29no robot that can replace an
58:30early childhood teacher. There
58:31is no productivity increase.
58:32That's going to happen. The
58:34only answer that we have is a
58:36massive public ivestment in
58:39early care. We saw also the
58:40difference between what CEOs
58:42are earning as well as their
58:44workers. so one of our policy
58:46recommendations in addition is
58:49that we can increase the
58:51minimum wage, but we're going
58:51to need something bigger than
58:53that. to really address this
58:54issue. So we need to raise
58:57revenue with specifically big
58:58business reminding them of the
59:03advantage of and really early
59:04childhood. And what we're
59:05asking you to do at the state
59:07Capitol is to collaborate with
59:09their colleagues, testify in
59:10support of universal childcare
59:12system and specifically keep
59:14in mind educators of color as
59:19well as immigrants who are
59:19disproportionately impacted by
59:22lowered wages as well as
59:23families who are seeking child
59:23care and to increase wages for
59:31teachers without increasing
59:32the cost for families who are
59:33already priced out of care. So
59:37we asked people to be a great
59:37race voice for children and
59:40enjoy. Join us in a meshing
59:41for state. Thank you. Thank
59:42you so much. And thank you to
59:46all of our presenters for
59:47giving us a lot of helpful
59:49information
59:53>> We have about 5 minutes
59:54left. looking to my colleagues
59:54to see what questions prime
59:55time for like. One and a half
59:56or 2 questions. As Johnson in
59:59the I don't I don't as
1:00:05actually have a question then
1:00:06I would just share that like
1:00:07and I appreciate.
1:00:08>> Folks are being willing to
1:00:11share their story as my
1:00:13myself, honestly, I can see a
1:00:15lot of my own personal
1:00:17experience in bed when the
1:00:18stories that are
1:00:19transparently, you know, yes,
1:00:22it's hard to accommodate $500
1:00:22a week, but we make it happen
1:00:24because we need to. But still,
1:00:27you know, when you think about
1:00:28the annually in some cases and
1:00:29in many cases, it's more
1:00:30expensive than the average
1:00:31rent costs. As we've seen. So
1:00:34it's all very connected. In
1:00:35some cases you're paying $500
1:00:38week as our family is. It can
1:00:39be even double your markets.
1:00:43And so I know that script for
1:00:44it and I won't take too much
1:00:46other time other than to say,
1:00:46like as we continue to talk
1:00:48about affordability and
1:00:49everything goes out, I think
1:00:50they'll be a lot of questions
1:00:51about the why. And you'll hear
1:00:53things floated because, you
1:00:54know, I would argue that rent
1:00:56control doesn't Saint solve
1:00:57this. Whether it's in place or
1:00:58not that driving court cost of
1:01:03housing child care, the cost
1:01:04to families the growing amount
1:01:07of folks that are being
1:01:08evicted in the city. It's all
1:01:09intertwined in and many ways
1:01:11is growing. And the numbers of
1:01:13those data sets are
1:01:14continuing. a helpful.
1:01:18Informational presentations
1:01:19from author folks that are in
1:01:19front of us today. So thanks.
1:01:25Council for bringing folks.
1:01:26shows the because that's my
1:01:26thing is the stress?
1:01:27>> I was jst gonna wrap it
1:01:28up. Thanks chair. Thank you to
1:01:33tell you for your
1:01:34presentations, everyone. That
1:01:34came think that.
1:01:37>> I'm also a mom of
1:01:39experience. Something similar
1:01:39to some of the stories that
1:01:40were shared. I really
1:01:41appreciate all of you for
1:01:42sharing your stories. I think
1:01:44another thing that stands out
1:01:44to me and when I read through
1:01:45your slides about
1:01:48>> about the economy and about
1:01:50a cure ability to earn income
1:01:53and and like future
1:01:54generational wealth. I think
1:01:55that one thing I want to point
1:01:57out is a lot of this makes it
1:01:58very challenging, especially
1:01:59for women to stay in the
1:02:00workforce.
1:02:01>> And the ways that we one
1:02:06east and workforce also
1:02:06childcare workers being women
1:02:07and women of color just not
1:02:10being valued and in that way
1:02:11and if we wear, you know,
1:02:14being supported as much as we
1:02:15need to sustain the work force
1:02:16that would solve a lot of the
1:02:19problems that we're talking
1:02:20about. So I just want to point
1:02:20that out because it's
1:02:21something that
1:02:23>> it's something that's very,
1:02:27very challenging.
1:02:27>> and I I think that, you
1:02:28know, there's that there's not
1:02:31any easy solutions, but we do
1:02:31have some things that the city
1:02:32that we can do. So thank you
1:02:34for.
1:02:34>> For everything of talk
1:02:35about today.
1:02:38>> And before turning things
1:02:39over to Ms Kehm to close us. I
1:02:40do. I also want to offer my
1:02:42thanks to everyone. Lots of
1:02:43follow-up questions. You're
1:02:44especially talk about how to
1:02:47one of the things I didn't see
1:02:48on the slides was to sort
1:02:50redistribute some of that
1:02:51wealth of this going to the
1:02:53high earners wondering about
1:02:54policy solutions for that
1:02:56because that to me seems like
1:02:57in another very targeted
1:02:59approach. And and to my
1:03:02friends advocating for
1:03:02affordable childcare is just
1:03:06always wonderful to see you.
1:03:07And I want to thank We've
1:03:07worked together on trying to
1:03:11solve this issue at the local
1:03:11level we haven't done it yet
1:03:12and we're going to and hopeful
1:03:16that campaign here is going to
1:03:18one way to do that at the
1:03:18state level. Hopefully so
1:03:21right there with you. And with
1:03:22that has yet is the key word.
1:03:23I think there.
1:03:26>> Yeah, I next steps for You
1:03:28know, we're going to be
1:03:29reaching out to more groups
1:03:30like we were selective in who
1:03:31we wanted to help grounds the
1:03:35council and are millions of
1:03:36viewers at home over what the
1:03:38issue is that we're trying to
1:03:39tackle. And reality is that we
1:03:40know that we feel across Saint
1:03:42Paul the next steps for
1:03:44offices were going to be
1:03:44reaching out to additional
1:03:45folks that might want to be
1:03:48interested and participating
1:03:49engagement sessions with us
1:03:49the last time we raise the
1:03:50minimum wage in Saint Paul, we
1:03:53heard Citizens League. I think
1:03:53you have like $150,000 price
1:03:55tag. We don't have that. So
1:03:57we're going to start with
1:03:58people, people, our greatest
1:04:00assets, and we're ging to
1:04:04start engaging different.
1:04:05Yeah, different groups of
1:04:05stakeholder. So if you're
1:04:07interested and meeting with my
1:04:09office and with labor groups
1:04:09and with families like please
1:04:12reach out to us. But we'll be
1:04:14taking a very similar approach
1:04:14as a Citizen league did. And
1:04:18the tree ordinance with with 0
1:04:21Money, which I think is where
1:04:21it's modeled Morris it the
1:04:22tree ordinance so we just
1:04:26office. We look forward to
1:04:27engaging with all of you.
1:04:27Thank you so much for taking
1:04:28the time and presenting. We
1:04:29really appreciate it.