Portland OR is trying to do something similar ("Preschool for all") and is running into the exact problems OP identified, to the point that the Democratic governor is sending warning messages to the county: https://www.opb.org/article/2025/06/26/kotek-multnomah-count...

They aren't just theoretical concerns.

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toomuchtodo 2 days ago | parent [-]

I will find time to build an inventory of every example of where subsidized childcare works and reply with said inventory.

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hedora 2 days ago | parent [-]

Yes, but can you find any that work well when the branch of the government that’s running it refuses to process paperwork from daycare providers or issue checks to pay those providers, and where its leader has prioritized getting the system shut down on the grounds that it’s “broken”?

(Not strawmanning; just summarizing the situation in Oregon, according to that linked article.)

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toomuchtodo 2 days ago | parent [-]

Governance is hard. People are hard. I can show you examples across the world where policy works, and where it doesn't. Success is not assured, but if we're not willing to try, why even get up in the morning? If it sucks in Oregon, my apologies; states are where experiments can take place, and there are 49 other states we can give it a go in.

	▲	hedora 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		No, clearly, if it doesn’t work when 100% of the people administering it are intentionally sabotaging it from within, it must be a bad idea. /s (I didn’t link the Oregon article, and don’t know much about it other than what the article says. Just pointing out it might not be the best case study to generalize from.)