5. He Couldn’t Afford Childcare As A United States Senator
Here’s a tale that the president likes to repeat whenever he’s talking about universal childcare, or trying to connect with working parents. He has often talked about how he commuted every day from Delaware to Washington, DC because he couldn’t afford childcare for his 2 sons.
While the first part is seemingly true, the last part, not so much. After his wife and daughter were tragically killed in a car accident, the then senator Biden, did in fact take the train back and forth, to reassure his children that things would be ok.
However, his sister (according to his own biography) had moved in with him to help with the kids. Now add to that, the fact that Senator Joe was making $42,000 a year in 1974. In today’s money, that’s equal to over $256,000.
Childcare in 1974 ranged from $1,200 to $2,300 per year That would have been less than 6% of his salary. Most parents will tell you, they pay much more than 6% of their annual salary for childcare.
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