Vice President Kamala Harris spoke in Raleigh Friday to lay out details of her economic agenda for the first time in her 2024 campaign.
Harris’ speech comes after former President Donald Trump held a rally at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville Wednesday, which was framed as an economic address but veered into discussion of the recent Democratic ticket change and personal attacks on Harris.
Harris and Trump’s appearances come in the wake of recent polling that shows North Carolina as a statistical tie, solidifying the state as a campaign priority for both candidates as they each try to secure its 16 electoral votes.
In her address, the Democratic nominee pledged to build an “opportunity economy” and emphasized that building up the middle class would be a “defining goal” of her presidency, should she be elected in November. She defined an “opportunity economy” as one “where everyone can compete and have a real chance to succeed.”
“[It is one where] everyone, regardless of who they are or where they start, has an opportunity to build wealth for themselves and their children and where we remove the barriers to opportunity, so anyone who wants to start a business or advance their career can access the tools and the resources that are necessary to do so,” she said.
Harris celebrated the new inflation numbers released Wednesday, which showed that the annual inflation rate fell to 2.9% — the lowest since 2021. However, she also acknowledged the ongoing burden of rising costs faced by many Americans, especially for rent and groceries.
“Our supply chains have now improved [since the COVID-19 pandemic], and prices are still too high. A loaf of bread cost 50% more today than it did before the pandemic [and] ground beef is up almost 50%,” Harris said. “… Costs are still too high, and on a deeper level for too many people, no matter how much they work, it feels so hard to just be able to get ahead.”
The vice president laid out three key policies within her platform of “lower[ing] the cost of living.”
Price gouging
The first part of Harris’ economic agenda is a federal ban on price gouging in the food and grocery industry.
“My plan will include new penalties for opportunistic companies that exploit crises and break the rules, and we will support smaller food businesses that are trying to play by the rules and get ahead,” Harris said. “We will help the food industry become more competitive, because I believe competition is the lifeblood of our economy.”
The price increases seen over the past few years have mostly been caused by supply-chain disruptions and increased demand in the economy, but economists disagree on the extent to which price gouging has contributed to inflation.
Corporate profits have risen since the pandemic, and the Federal Trade Commission found in March that grocery retailer profits increased last year. Proponents of anti-price gouging laws blame this on consolidation, which allows big companies to raise prices without fear of being undercut.
But other economists say that fluctuations in corporate profits are common. Plus, grocery profit margins — the difference in the cost of goods and the price they are sold for — are relatively low compared to other industries.
Harris did not explicitly define “price gouging” or how the federal government would enforce the penalties she proposed in her address.
Price-gouging bans are currently in effect in 37 states. Although these state bans are defined differently, they broadly prohibit corporations from taking advantage of sudden changes in supply and demand by increasing prices.
At a federal level, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., introduced the Price Gouging Prevention Act in February, which would require corporations to be more transparent in price changes and give the Federal Trade Commission more power to enforce anti-price gouging laws.
Critics say that increased regulation on businesses could have multiple negative impacts and actually would be counterproductive to lowering prices. For one, it would be difficult to actually define price gouging. Secondly, disincentivizing companies to produce in bulk could create supply shortages and even higher prices.
Housing costs
Another rising cost facing many Americans is housing, for both renters and buyers.
Harris sought to connect with her audience over the experience of feeling overburdened by high housing costs, mentioning in her address that her mother was a renter for most of the now-vice president’s childhood. She also touted her record as a prosecutor, having earned a $20 billion settlement for California homeowners in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
Many economists blame the lack of housing supply for high prices. Harris’ proposed four-year plan will try to combat supply issues by constructing 3 million units and incentivizing home builders to construct affordable housing through tax policy.
“We will take down barriers and cut red tape, including at the state and local levels,” Harris said.
“And by the end of my first term, we will end America's housing shortage by building 3 million new homes and rentals that are affordable for the middle class … and we will make sure those homes actually go to working and middle-class Americans, not just investors.”
The Democratic nominee also pledged to support first-time homebuyers who have successfully paid rent for two years with $25,000 in down payment assistance, an extension of a March proposal from President Joe Biden.
Some have called Harris’ housing plan inflationary, arguing it will increase demand without addressing supply concerns, but the campaign believes that addressing the supply-side issue with building incentives will ultimately reduce costs.
Tax credits
Harris proposed to restore the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit, two policies from the Biden-Harris administration’s 2021 American Rescue Plan designed to give Americans more take-home income during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The American Rescue Plan included a child tax credit of up to $3,600 for qualifying families. As a result, child poverty fell to historic lows in 2021.
Harris plans to bring this policy back, also proposing an even greater tax credit for middle- and low-income families in the first year of their child’s life.
“We will provide $6,000 in tax relief to families during the first year of a child's life,” Harris said. “… That is a vital, vital year of critical development of a child, and the cost can really add up — especially for young parents who need to buy diapers and clothes and a car seat and so much else.”
The earned income tax credit is issued to frontline workers without children. Harris wants to restore the ARP’s policy providing up to $1,500 in relief, which was only in effect for 2021.
Harris contrasted her tax policies to Trump’s, criticizing her Republican opponent’s proposed tariffs on imported Chinese goods. She equated them to a “national sales tax,” which she says will “mean higher prices on just about every one of [Americans’] daily needs.”
The Center for American Progress Action found that 20% tariffs on all imports — which have been floated by Trump — would be equivalent to a $3,900 tax for a middle-income family due to an expected increase in the cost of consumption goods.
Many of Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act policies are set to expire in 2025. The law cut taxes for the majority of Americans — six out of the seven tax brackets — but critics, including Harris, say it disproportionately benefited the wealthy.
“[Trump] plans to give billionaires massive tax cuts year after year, and he plans to cut corporate taxes by over a trillion dollars, even as they pull in record profits,” Harris said. “And that's on top of the $2 trillion tax cut he already signed into law when he was president.”
Harris did not address the cost of any of these proposed policies or how they would be funded and also claimed that she would “reduce the national debt” without providing details on a strategy.
The vice president would need congressional approval for a majority of the proposals she outlined Friday, which would likely also necessitate Democratic control of the House of Representatives and Senate.
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Ranjan Jindal is a Trinity junior and sports editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.