Is Hillary Clinton Correct That Dog Trainers Earn More Than Child Care Workers?

Former Secretary of State and current Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton has made attention-grabbing use of dog metaphors in this presidential campaign thus far, and she repeated the trick in a campaign speech in Detroit Monday. Speaking to a crowd of Service Employees International Union members, Hillary made a point about the importance of affordable child care in a memorable, if unusual, way. She began by observing that “Dog trainers are paid more than child care workers,” then extended the metaphor:

You don’t dream of sending your dog to college, do you? You don’t worry about whether your dog is going to be exposed to dangerous influences because you can’t afford quality childcare, do you? This is crazy.

The bit became instant fodder for conservative critics online, who immediately cried that “Hillary Compares Children to Dogs,” but none bothered to argue her central point: are dog trainers really paid more than child care workers?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for animal trainers is $26,610.00, while for child care workers, it’s $20,320. Thanks to President Obama’s new overtime rules, however, wage-earners in both sectors will be eligible for overtime pay well beyond the median wage for their occupations.

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