(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake County Councilmember Aimee Winder Newton makes remarks during the opening of the Kem and Carolyn Gardner Mental Health Crisis Care Center in South Salt Lake, Friday, March 28, 2025.

I would like to applaud Aimee Winder Newton for introducing the difficult but necessary decision to cut county childcare services in the middle of a federal government shutdown. Not to mention the majority of the Salt Lake County Council for affirming this very rational business decision.

As the governor’s appointed director of the Office of Families and an elected member of the Salt Lake County Council she is charged with being an expert in, and taking care of, our families. And I’m glad she has pivoted from previous ideals, such as the one laid out in the Utah Compact on Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion authored by the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, which she signed, that states she supports “creating policies that provide equal opportunity and access to education, employment, housing, and healthcare.”

Regardless of that and her role to “think of the children,” it is clear that these programs were simply not a good financial ROI (return on investment) much like many other money pits, such as roads and firefighters!

The fact that the little west side children in my neighborhood near the Northwest Recreation Center failed to meet KPIs (key performance indicators) means layoffs were inevitable. What did these toddlers expect would happen? Even though most developed countries have robust childcare programs for their citizens, I suggest we take a grindset mentality and turn this into a profitable synergistic opportunity and consider Jonathan Swift’s Modest Proposal to address this budgetary shortfall.

After all, what are babies for if not to extract capital?

Justice Morath, Salt Lake City

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