US Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday announced a series of economic proposals aimed at cutting taxes, lowering the prices of groceries, housing and other essentials for many Americans.
“The bills are piling up,” she declared, trying to address financial concerns, which are a top priority for voters, and Republican Donald Trump's efforts to blame her for the state of the nation's economy.
During a North Carolina state speech, Kamala Harris said “strengthening the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency” as she unveiled her plan for a federal ban on price gouging by food manufacturers and companies of distribution of food items. It also proposed $25,000 in assistance for a category of first home buyers and tax incentives for new home builders.
“Every day throughout our country, families talk about their plans for the future, their ambitions, their aspirations for themselves, for their children. They also talk about how they're going to be able to make it financially because the bills are going up and up,” Ms. Harris said. “We have food, rent, gas, back-to-school clothes and medicine. After all these expenses, for many families there is not much left at the end of the month”, she said.
She highlighted tax cuts for families as well as middle- and low-income earners, promising to expand the child tax credit to $3,600 per child and $6,000 for children in their first year of life. .
Overall, the plans represent a continuation of many of the priorities of President Biden's administration.
Ms. Harris is not seeking a radical departure from the policies of President Joe Biden, who withdrew from the presidential race last month and endorsed Vice President Harris. However, Ms. Harris has embraced populist economic policies, shifting from Mr. Biden's priority on job creation and infrastructure to issues more closely related to lowering the cost of living, such as food prices, housing costs and the reduction of taxes for families.
Much of what she is proposing will need approval from Congress, which could be difficult because of the tough political environment. However, Ms Harris' campaign team has provided few details on how these proposals would be funded.
Vice President Harris is trying to fend off former President Trump's attacks on her, in which he called her “a radical California liberal who destroyed the economy,” as he said during a speech Thursday that featured popular store items grocery to highlight the high cost of food.
Some of Mr Trump's economic advisers criticized Ms Harris' plans before she spoke on Friday. Brian Hughes, a spokesman for former President Trump's campaign, said Ms Harris' proposals were representative of a “socialist and authoritarian model”.
Kevin Hassett, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers during Mr Trump's administration, called the idea of the government playing a role in setting food prices “absolutely absurd”, a reference to Ms Harris' proposal for a federal ban on “growing of corporate food prices”.
In her speech, Harris offered sharp contrasts to Mr. Trump's economic proposals, including his call for high tariffs on foreign goods. She said her opponent “wants to impose what is, in effect, a national sales tax on everyday products and basic necessities that we import from other countries.”
“It would mean higher prices for almost every day-to-day need,” Ms Harris said.
Polls show Americans are more likely to trust Mr. Trump than Ms. Harris to manage the economy. According to polls, about 45 percent of Americans say that Mr. Trump is better positioned to manage the economy, while 38 percent of them support Ms. Harris's approach to the issue.
