There’s a vision softly creeping within the government. It’s a vision of a single-payer, perhaps even government-run childcare system. And it’s a vision that, if implemented, will end in tears. Very expensive tears.

This vision has been in the works for years. It’s the product of a group of lobbyists with good hearts, but not so good ideas. Those ideas will add billions in cost without improving care, while leaving big productivity gains on the table. And we’ll get to that.