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Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris unveiled her economic plan in a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday afternoon, warning that her rival, Donald Trump, would “make the cost of living go up for millions of Americans.”
The vice president’s plan is focused on economic initiatives that would benefit the middle class, with tax cuts she said would affect 100 million Americans, a federal ban on price gouging, lower drug prices, and the building of millions more homes. Harris compared each aspect of her agenda to that of Trump, promising a bright future in contrast to the former president’s dark vision of the past.
Specifically, she has promised to enact a federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries, and promulgate regulations to stop big corporations from “unfairly” exploiting consumers and raking in “excessive profits” as a result.
The campaign also announced plans to call for building three million new housing units over the next four years by incentivizing new home construction and tax credits for first-time home buyers that would have the effect of making housing more affordable for younger Americans who’ve been shut out of the market by excessive price increases during the post-pandemic era.
Additionally, Harris wants to press Congress into passing legislation to end tax incentives for corporate landlords who acquire single family homes, either to rent or to resell at a profit.
It’s a significant shift from the economic policy of the Biden administration, which has largely focused on curbing inflation through investments in infrastructure spending and job creation rather than on controlling runaway corporate profits.
The campaign added that they would also “secure new authority” for the Federal Trade Commission to fight consumer price gouging.
In her remarks, Harris contrasted her plan with that of Trump, who has repeatedly suggested that the way to curb price increases would be to allow more oil drilling and cut regulations on corporations.
“If you want to know who someone cares about, look who they fight for,” Harris said, adding that Trump is fighting for billionaires and large companies while she is fighting for “working and middle class Americans.”
“He offered no serious plans to reduce costs for middle-class families, no plan to expand access to housing or health care. And that actually, I think for most of us, was not surprising,” she said at the end of her speech.
Speaking to the Raleigh crowd on Friday afternoon, Harris said: “As president, I will be laser focused on creating opportunities for the middle class that advance their economic security, stability and dignity. Together, we will build what I call an opportunity economy.”
More than one million Americans will get tax relief under her plan, she said, referring to the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit.
“Key to creating this opportunity economy is building up our middle class,” she said. Building up the middle class is going to be a “defining goal” of her presidency, Harris told the crowd.
Her plan, she said, will focus on lowering the cost of living, increasing economic security for all Americans, ensuring salaries are “enough to provide you and your family with a good quality of life,” making sure no child should have to grow up in poverty, and allowing Americans to “retire with dignity.”
She said she grew up middle class, with parents who were “renters,” and noted that one of her first jobs was working for McDonald’s for “family money.” If elected, Harris would make history as the first president to work at the fast food chain.
As part of her plan, Harris also said she would “take on health care,” and received cheers from the crowd when she mentioned the Biden-Harris administration’s successful efforts to lower the costs of insulin and prescription drugs.
The audience started chanting “We’re not going back!” beating Harris to the punch, when she said that Donald Trump tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Harris also raised Trump’s plan to enact a 10 percent tariff on all imports as a way of forcing manufacturers to bring jobs back to the US. The former president has frequently claimed that tariffs are paid by foreign countries, but in reality they are taxes paid by consumers and importing corporations.
The vice president insisted that Trump’s plan would hike prices for all sorts of goods across the entire country.
“He wants to impose what is in effect, a national sales tax on everyday products and basic necessities that we import from other countries that will devastate Americans. It will mean higher prices on just about every one of your daily needs, a Trump tax on gas, a Trump tax on food, a Trump tax on clothing, a Trump tax on over the counter medication,” she said.
