At the top of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ list of high-growth occupations: personal care aides. They make an average of only $20,440 per year. That speaks to two things: 1) the aging of America and the growing need for caregivers and 2) the low general compensation for caregiving, which has become the focus of analysts and organizers like MacArthur “genius” award winner Ai-jen Poo. What we’ve seen thus far in the debate includes many moderator questions framing the issue of jobs in the context of related issues, like taxation. We have not heard any candidates talk about the rising cadre of lower-earning workers in societally important fields like caregiving and how their fortunes will be affected by the policies in question.
