Kelly Thompson’s Education and Childcare Plan

Fixing education and childcare in America will require more than incremental reforms. The pressures facing families today are structural, economic, and deeply interconnected. That means the solutions must be as well.

Kelly Thompson’s education and childcare plan is built on a central premise: education, childcare, and workforce readiness are not separate policy issues. They are components of the same economic infrastructure that determines labor force participation, productivity, and long-term middle-class stability.

For too long, families have been asked to absorb rising education and childcare costs while schools and educators operate under increasingly strained resources. At the same time, employers continue reporting persistent workforce shortages across healthcare, education, skilled trades, infrastructure, and technology.

When childcare becomes unaffordable, workforce participation drops. When schools are under-resourced, opportunity gaps widen. When education costs rise faster than wages, economic mobility slows.

This is not a short-term imbalance. It is a structural drag on the economy.

Early Childhood Education and Childcare Expansion

This proposal begins with early childhood education and childcare, where workforce participation and child development outcomes intersect most directly.

Federal investment would support:

Expansion of affordable childcare access
Construction and modernization of childcare and early learning facilities
Universal access to high-quality pre-K programs

The goal is twofold: reduce the financial burden on working families and stabilize labor force participation by ensuring parents are not forced out of employment due to childcare costs or availability.

This is not only a “family policy” but also a workforce stability strategy.

Strengthening K–12 Education and Addressing Inequality

A major structural issue in American education is the reliance on local property taxes to fund public schools. This system creates deep and persistent inequality in opportunity based on ZIP code and local wealth.

This proposal supports strengthening baseline federal investment to ensure:

School quality is not determined by property values
Rural and urban districts are not structurally disadvantaged
Every student has access to core academic and enrichment opportunities
Investment priorities include classroom resources, facility modernization, and expanded student support services.

Supporting and Stabilizing the Educator Workforce

Teacher shortages and retention challenges are affecting districts nationwide. Burnout, rising living costs, and lack of support are pushing experienced educators out of the profession.

This plan includes:

A nationwide baseline teacher pay increase, including a $10,000 annual raise
Recruitment and retention incentives in high-need districts
Expanded professional development and support systems
Long-term workforce stabilization funding for public education

If the country expects educators to prepare students for a modern economy, it must treat teaching as a stable, respected, and sustainable profession.

Career, Technical Education, and Workforce Pathways

Not every student follows the same path, and policy should reflect that reality.

This proposal expands:

Career and technical education (CTE) in high schools
Apprenticeship partnerships with employers
Certification and trade pathways aligned with workforce demand
Expanded early credentialing opportunities

Under this model, students can graduate high school with:

An Associate Degree
A technical certification
A direct apprenticeship placement

All are fully supported as part of the public education system.

Higher Education Affordability and Debt Reduction

Rising tuition and student debt have created long-term barriers to economic stability for millions of Americans, delaying:

Homeownership
Entrepreneurship
Family formation
Retirement savings

This proposal includes a framework for:

Eliminate existing federal student loan debt burdens
Expand tuition-free access to public state universities
Fully fund trade schools and technical certification programs

The goal is not just individual relief, but long-term economic mobility and workforce participation.

Funding the Plan: A 2-Cent Per Dollar Speculative Tax

To support this level of investment, the proposal establishes a dedicated national funding mechanism: a 2-cent per dollar traded speculative tax on financial market activity.

This applies to high-volume trading across:

Stocks
Bonds
Commodities
Derivatives

In practical terms, for every $100 in speculative financial trading activity, $2 is directed into long-term public investment in education and childcare infrastructure.

Based on current market activity and accounting for behavioral adjustments in trading volume, this system is projected to generate between $150 billion and $500+ billion annually in stable federal revenue.

This range reflects the scale of modern financial markets while accounting for reduced high-frequency trading activity after implementation.

The Scale of the Investment

This funding system is designed to support a comprehensive national investment strategy.

Estimated annual costs include:

Early Childhood Education

Universal pre-K expansion: $60–$120 billion
Childcare infrastructure and staffing: $40–$80 billion

K–12 Education Investment

Teacher compensation increases: $50–$80 billion
School infrastructure and support systems: $60–$120 billion

Higher Education and Debt Relief

Student loan debt elimination (amortized): $60–$120 billion
Tuition-free public college and trade school access: $80–$150 billion

Career and Technical Education

Apprenticeships, certifications, and workforce pathways: $20–$50 billion

Total System Investment

Combined, this represents a national investment range of $370 billion to $720+ billion per year.

Why the Math Works

This proposal is not dependent on increasing taxes on working families, property owners, or small businesses.

Instead, it redirects a small portion of high-volume speculative financial activity into the long-term systems that sustain workforce participation, economic mobility, and national productivity.

The structure is designed so that:

Revenue scales with financial market activity
Funding remains stable across economic cycles
Investment flows into systems that strengthen long-term economic output

The Core Principle

At its foundation, this proposal reflects a simple economic alignment. When financial markets generate large-scale value through high-frequency activity, a portion of that activity should be reinvested into the systems that make sustained economic growth possible.

Kelly Thompson’s plan treats education and childcare as core economic infrastructure, not discretionary spending and aligns funding accordingly.

The result is a system where financial market activity helps stabilize the very workforce that supports long-term economic growth.

Paid For and Authorized by Kelly Thompson For Congress