Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled her economic plans Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina, marking the first time she’s released a primary policy initiative since President Biden dropped out of the race last month.
North Carolina is a key battleground state in November, and Harris is seeking to convince voters there and across the country that her policies can lower prices and provide economic opportunity for Americans. Harris noted that this was her 16th stop in the state since taking office as vice president, and President Biden’s first stop after the fateful debate that ultimately led to his departure from the race.
Harris said she would elaborate on her economic plan in the coming weeks, but on Friday she focused her efforts on lowering the cost of living.
“When I am elected president, I will make reducing fees and strengthening the economic security of all Americans a top, sensible priority,” Harris said at Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh. “As president, I will take care of the high positions that matter. ” We all know that charges increased during the pandemic as source networks reacted and failed. But our source chains have now improved. . . And the charges are still too high.
Harris also criticized former President Donald Trump for his economic policies. He said Trump would impose “what is a national sales tax,” referring to Trump’s recent comments about expanding price lists for goods imported into the United States from 10 percent to 20 percent.
Harris calls for the structure of 3 million new homes in her first 4 years in office. Biden’s leadership had in the past called for the structure of 2 million new homes.
You need to inspire those new sets with a tax break for developers building homes for first-time homebuyers. It also proposes a $40 billion fund for local governments to find answers to the housing shortage.
“There is a severe housing shortage. In many places, it’s too complicated to build them and that’s driving up prices,” Harris said. “As president, I will work in partnership with industry to build the homes we need, whether it’s for hiring and buying. We will remove barriers and reduce bureaucracy, adding at national and local level. And through the end of my first term, we’re going to end the housing shortage in the United States by building 3 million new homes. and affordable rents for the middle class. ”
Campaign officials said Harris would ask Congress to pass a law to prevent algorithmic facilitation by rental cartels, which would save landlords from pricing algorithms to raise rents. He also needs lawmakers to pass the Stop Predatory Investing Act, a bill that would restrict tax breaks for large investors and personal equity firms that obtain single-family rental homes in large numbers.
“Some business owners, some of them, are buying dozens, even many, houses and apartments,” Harris said. “Then they deliver and rent them at incredibly high prices. And that can make it very unlikely that other people will buy or even rent a home. “
Harris will also propose offering Americans who have paid their rent on time for two years up to $25,000 for a down payment, and more for first-generation homeowners.
Harris also proposes an expansion of child tax credits to offer a $6,000 tax cut to families with newborns. Republican vice presidential candidate and Ohio Senator JD Vance has proposed an even more general expansion of the $5,000 child tax credits. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget noted that Vance’s proposal, which is 150% larger than the existing $2,000 tax credits, could lead to the creation of trillions of debt. “We could easily be talking about $2 to $3 trillion in additional borrowing over the next decade,” Marc Goldwein, senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, told CBS MoneyWatch of Vance’s proposal.
Vance cautioned that his tax credits would not be subject to source-of-income thresholds, while Harris’ proposal would apply to middle- and low-income families.
Brian Hughes, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said there were “many comments in the Harris campaign criticizing Senator Vance and the campaign for advocating for family-friendly policies aimed at those raising children. ” “That’s why it’s a little ironic to see Vice President Harris suddenly adopt policies that she seemed to have stopped at just a few weeks ago. “
Harris also wants to restore the Child Tax Credit to pandemic-era American Rescue Plan levels, which would give working-class and middle-class families with children up to $3,600 per child.
He also proposes a $1,500 earned income tax credit for other people in low-income jobs raising children. The crusade is also under pressure for Harris to ensure that “no one earning less than $400,000 a year pays any more new taxes. ”
Vance and Harris’ proposals would require congressional approval.
In North Carolina, Harris also talked about how the costs of express products like bread are much higher than before the pandemic, which Biden is less likely to do.
In the first 100 days of her administration, Harris, according to a campaign fact sheet, would take on the grocery charge by introducing Congress to a federal ban on price gouging on groceries and other products and a new government for commerce. federal. and state attorneys general to allow them to impose sanctions on corporations that violate the rules.
“Look, expenses are going up,” Harris said Friday. Food, rent, gas, back-to-school clothes, prescription drugs – after all this, many families have a lot left at the end of the month. ”
Excessive consolidation in the food industry has led to higher costs that account for a giant portion of the increase in grocery bills. Harris plans to crack down on unfair mergers and acquisitions that give big food corporations the leverage to raise food and grocery costs. and undermine the festival that helps keep costs down for consumers. And his plan targets small businesses, like grocery stores, meat processors, farmers and ranchers, so those industries can be more competitive.
According to the latest CBS News poll, only 9% of the registered electorate rated the state of the national economy as “very good,” and the economy and inflation consistently ranked as the most sensible fear in 2024 polls. Inflation has slowed from its peak in June 2022, but many voters still feel monetary hardship. Prices are still generally 20% higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, the Trump campaign accused Harris of trying to implement price controls, which they said “have been attempted – and failed – throughout history because they inevitably lead to food lines, shortages, and growing inequality. ” Trump’s crusader also blamed Harris and Biden’s economic policies for creating the problem, “aided and abetted by Harris’ swing votes on trillions in inflationary spending. ” However, economists have said pandemic-related federal spending through Trump and Biden has driven peak inflation.
In each and every battleground state, voters tell CBS News that the economy remains a major factor when they go to the polls.
“Workforce development, creating job opportunities, ensuring that everyone can advance in other career fields,” Abraham Camejo said in Las Vegas ahead of Harris’ rally on Saturday when asked about economic priorities. “The policies that gain advantages for large companies and the middle class are different. “
According to a recent CBS News poll on a question about policies that could improve citizens’ finances, Harris is Trump, and 45 percent of the registered electorate say they would be better off financially with the former president, compared to Harris’ 25 percent. .
Harris’ economic policy comments followed her promise last Saturday at a rally in Las Vegas to tax tips and raise the minimum wage.
“When I am president, we will continue our fight for leading families, adding a minimum wage increase and eliminating tip taxes for service and hospitality workers,” Harris said recently at a rally attended by members of the Nevada Congress. Culinary Union.
An official with the Harris-Walz crusade said his pledge would require legislation.
It was the first time Harris had made a proposal to eliminate tip taxes on service workers, a concept similar to the one Trump first floated in June, also at a rally in Las Vegas.
In 2025, lawmakers are expected to enjoy a primary opening on tax legislation, given the expiration of some tax tweaks made during Trump’s presidency in 2017. Control of Congress is most likely a paramount issue on this issue, as Republicans occupied the House and Senate. and the White House when Trump’s 2017 tax cuts become law.