the American economy; the bulk of therneconomic growth of the past 20 years—rnespecially during the “family values” erarnof Reagan and Bush—has been the resultrnof mothers entering the workforce.rnIndeed, had mothers not entered thernworkforce in historic numbers, realrnhousehold income would have declinedrnduring the 1980’s.rnAccording to the New York Times,rn”The new study was designed . . . to addressrnone of the most emotionallyrncharged issues in society today: Does arnmother put her child at risk by workingrnoutside the home?” But unlike studiesrnwhich have focused on quantifiable risksrnof daycare—i.e., middle-ear infectionsrnand other measures of health—thisrnstudy “measured” the “sense of trust”rnthat 15-month-old children felt for theirrnmothers. The 25 researchers on the projectrnconcluded that such trust is a functionrnof the “sensitivity and responsiveness”rnof the mother, and is not affectedrnby particular childcare arrangements.rnMost of the media have followed JoanrnLunden’s lead, reporting that this studyrn”proves” that childcare poses no risk tornchildren. Who knows, the ballyhooingrnof the study by the national media mayrneen have influenced the MichiganrnSupreme Court’s ruling that a woman’srndecision to place a child in daycarerncannot be used against her in a custodyrnbattle.rnBuried deep in the New York ‘Timesrnarticle, however, is the admission thatrn”later stages of the study” will examinernsuch quantifiable risks as adverse effectsrnon “cognitie and language skills, physicalrndevelopment, health, [and] behavior.”rnThe fix is in. By releasing thesern”preliminary” results with great fanfarerntwo or more years before the final resultsrnwill be in, the researchers have laid therngroundwork for dismissing any findingsrnwhich might not serve the needs of governmentrnand big business. Why shouldrnit matter if our daughter suffers from recurrentrnmiddle-ear infections, has troublernmaking herself understood, and actsrnlike a barbarian? At least her sense ofrntrust in von is intact. Whether it shouldrnbe—after what you’ve subjected herrnto—is another question, one the federallyrnfunded researchers won’t touch.rnOthers have, and the results are clear.rnChildren in daycare are almost sevenrntimes as likely to contract pneumonia asrnchildren who are eared for at home.rnThey are twice as likely to suffer fromrnacute middle-ear infections, which canrnconfound their language developmentrnand even result in hearing loss. By therntime they turn ten, five or six years afterrnthey left daycare and entered school,rnthey are far more aggressie. have lowerrngrades and poorer study skills, and generallyrnhave trouble interacting with theirrnpeers.rnThe term “child care,” rather than thernmore common “daycare,” is usedrnthroughout the study, and a closer lookrnre’eals why. As the Times reports, thisrnstudy “includes more diverse familiesrnand more types of child care” than previousrnones. The new types included “carernby fathers or relatives or in the home b’ arncaregiver,” all of which, not surprisingly,rnwere found to be of better quality thanrninstitutional care. The inclusion of theserncategories may be a deliberate attempt tornmask the adverse effects of institutionalrncare.rnA friend of mine once stayed homernwith his children while his wife attendedrna Tupperware party. The hostess, meetingrnhis wife at the door, asked her if myrnfriend was “babysitting” the children.rnTaken aback, his wife responded, “Well,rnyou know, they are his kids.” By adoptingrnthe hostess’ attitude and not distinguishingrncare by fathers or other relativesrnfrom care by strangers, this study legitimizesrninstitutional care and eases thernway for its expansion. Unfortunately, itrnhas already expanded far more thanrnmost people realize. A mere three daysrnafter this study was released, the CensusrnBureau reported that more than half ofrnall American children were enrolled inrninstitutional daycare or other nonrelatierncare.rn—Scoff P. RichertrnO B I T E R D I C T A : The 1996 meetingrnof the John Randolph Club, which willrnaddress the topics of nationalism and thernfuture of the American right, will be heldrnon October 4-5 at the Crystal CityrnMarriott in Arlington, Virginia. Forrnthose who are prompt enough to registerrnbefore September 1, the fee is $225; afterrnthat date, it will be $250. Cheeks shouldrnbe made out to the John Randolph Clubrnand mailed to Burt Blumert, Center forrnLibertarian Studies, Crown Building,rn875 Mahler Road, Suite 150, Burlingame,rnCalifornia, 94010.rnTo reserve a room at the Crystal CityrnMarnott, call (800) 228-9290. For attendeesrnof the JRC meeting, the Marriottrnoffers a special fare: $85 a night, single orrndouble occupancy.rnThe meeting will follow a special dinnerrnon October 4 to commemorate thern20th anniversary of The Rockford Institute.rnFor information about this event,rnplease call (815) 964-5811 and ask forrnSarah Trimble.rnIn our May issue, Professor EugenernNarrett recounted the efforts of MichaelrnMcLaughlin to get his daughter Julia intornBoston Latin High School after shernwas denied admission because of a 35rnpercent minority quota. Now LLS. FirstrnDistrict Judge Arthur Garrity has issuedrna contradictory proposal: that Juliarnshould be admitted this fall because,rnsomehow, “the merits of her case nowrnappear stronger,” and that the minorityrnquota at Boston Latin and other schoolsrnin the city should be raised to 75 percentrnto accommodate Boston’s new black andrnHispanic majority. President Clinton’srnplan to “mend, not end affirmativernaction” seems right on course.rnThe following stores in New Jerseyrnnow sell Chronicles: Borders, 515 Routern73 South, Marlton; Borders, GardenrnState Plaza, Paramus; Barnes & NoblernSuperstore, 765 Route 17 South, Paramus;rnBarnes & Noble Superstore, 200rnW. Route 70, Mariton; Barnes & NoblernSuperstore, Shortline Center, Paramus;rnBorders, Mid State Mall, East Brunswick;rnMel Thompson, 45 Lubman Terrace,rnSecaucus; Sy Rosensweig, 46-B SterlingrnStreet, Lakehurst; Garden State News,rn461 Palisade Ave., Cliffside Park; TotalrnCirculation Services, 83 Myer Street,rnHackensack; Barnes & Noble Superstore,rn2103 Highway 35, Holmdel.rnFor Immediate ServicernCHRONICLESrnNEW SUBSCRIBERSrnTOLL FREE NUMBERrnrhfX)ni(i(^srnI 0M1 Ml. minrn^^Trn1-800-877-5459rnAUGUST 1996/7rnrnrn