Is it time to fund state nurseries?

I don’t think “now” is the time to look for state- funded anything. Goodness knows how we are going to,pay for the last two months alone let alone the years to come with an economy in recession.
Nurseries can be eye-wateringly expensive and many mums I have known over the years have seen no change out of their pay cheques after meeting nursery fees , but have felt it a worthwhile investment 1) to keep their career ticking over and 2) because children benefit from social interaction with their peers before starting school.
So yes, in principle, but I won’t hold my breath.

someone is going to have to pay for it though.

The 'nation' pays for it, oldgimmer.

The nation is not a business, it doesn't have to make a profit, or even 'balance the books', because it doesn't have to 'earn' aanything. It issues its own money. If it were to fund nursery education the money it puts in will come back to it by way of taxes on the sales (VAT) and profits of the the private companies it buys all its resources from; from furniture and equipment to toilet paper and cleaning materials. Also, income tax from the staff employed by its private suppliers, whose wages come out of the income they make from supplying the government.
Then the same taxes apply to the wages the government pay to their directly employed staff; income tax, taxes on their purchases and taxes on the businesses (and their employees) that they purchase from.

The only money that doesn't come back pretty fast is any savings that people might make. But even that get taxed back once the savings are spent.

So, tell me why our government, which is supposed to run the country so as to benefit all its citizens, couldn't finance universal nursery education?

If you feel happy paying much more income tax to subsidise a couple working and earning £100, 000+ then yes, let us have free nurseries
If we are talking preschools open a few hours a day to educate and integrate young children, it already is in place, children between 3 and 5 get 15 hours free each week and 30 hours in some circumstances and I am all for that.

I agree in principle. Other countries manage it.

the taxpayer someone is going to have to pay for it though.

I agree. Nursery should be part of an education system.

I agree 100% with nurseries, or at least with state-subsidised much more affordable charges, but not with care home provision for everybody with assets - the cost would be colossal.

I know she was unusual, but my (self funded) mother was in her dementia care home from the age of 89 until she died at 97 - just under 8 years. We were very lucky at the time to be able to buy an annuity to cover costs above her income - still a very hefty sum even when interest rates were much more favourable. We ‘won’ the annuity ‘bet’ at around the 4 year mark, but does anyone really think that that money should eventually have come to her family, rather than paying for her own badly needed care?

I believe the average stay is around 2 1/2 years. I know that during her long stay I saw many other residents arrive, decline, and quietly disappear.

However I do think govt. funding for those without sufficient assets should increase. At the moment it’s typically way below what any self-funder has to pay for exactly the same care in the same care home. And of course there should be far more local-authority run care homes, rather than those run for profit. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t be as good as the very good but moderately priced homes we’ve seen over the years.

I was thinking that this is something that was done in WW2 when women were needed to work in the factories and keep the country running. The nurseries started then lasted for a few years after the war- I went to one in 1948 when my mother was ill- they closed as women went from the workforce in the 50s'. So it has been done before in times of crisis.

I mean partly funded by government not partly agree ?

The only way my GS and his wife are surviving is because the nursery they use has thankfully waived fees while this goes on, the money is paying the rent while GS has no income as he’s self-employed. I agree with the OP even if only partly.

Definitely and fund care homes too. Children and those who need care are too special and vulnerable to be left to the vagaries of the private sector.

We need to place a value on early years first, it is frequently in my view seen as lesser.