Childcare Tax Credit
Proposal: Increase the childcare tax credit to up to $3,000 per child.
Average weekly cost of childcare in Westchester, according to Child Care Council of Westchester, Inc.:
Infants (6 weeks to 18 months): $324 ($16,848 per year)
Toddlers (19 months to 35 months): $297 ($15,444 per year)
Preschoolers (3 to 5 years old): $267 ($13,884 per year)
School age (5 to 12 years old): $250 ($13,00 per year)
Community College
Proposal: Make the first two years of community college free.
The cost of one full-time semester (12 credits or more) at Westchester Community College is $2,140, or $5,280 for a full year.
Gender Wage Gap
Proposal: “This Congress still needs to pass a law that makes sure a woman is paid the same as a man for doing the same work. Really. It’s 2015. It’s time.”
According to the National Women’s Law Center, women working full-time and year-round in New York State earn 86 cents for every dollar her male counterparts make ($44,114 median earnings for women; $51,414 for men across all jobs). That’s a considerable gap, even if it’s the second smallest in the nation (behind only the District of Columbia) and above the national average of 78 cents for every dollar.
Tax Increases on the Wealthy
Proposal: Raise the capital gains tax from 20 percent to 28 percent for couples who earn more $500,000 annually.
According to the Westchester County Department of Planning, the median household income for Westchester residents is $79,585. The median for New York State is $55,233.
Minimum Wage
Proposal: Raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10
New York State’s minimum wage is $8.75. According to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, the living wage for a single adult in Westchester is $13.05. For an adult with one child, it’s $26.64. For an adult with two children, it’s $34.25.
