Hosted by Heather McGhee, chairman of the board of Color of Change, former president of Demos, and author of The Sum of Us
In this episode of the Ezra Klein Show podcast, guest-host Heather McGhee interviews Ai-Jen Poo — co-founder and executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, a MacArthur grant winner, and author of The Age of Dignity — about how the United States can fix its inadequate systems of care. Poo explains how we arrived at a system that devalues care, and why child care and eldercare should be viewed as essential infrastructure. She goes on to explain that the enormity of the US care system’s needs must be addressed by the government. The Build Back Better proposal will help to ensure that everyone has access to paid leave, affordable childcare, and quality long-term care — while ensuring that care workers receive a living wage rather than poverty wages.