Kamala Harris unveils ‘populist’ economic agenda to cut costs

WASHINGTON — US Vice-President Kamala Harris on Friday unveiled a plan to “lower costs for American families” that included proposals to ban price gouging, build 3 million new housing units and grant a tax credit of $6,000 per newborn.

These much-awaited economic proposals, which Harris will announce at an election rally in North Carolina, offer the first public view of her governing agenda as president in coming three weeks after she was catapulted to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden exited the race bowing to pressure from with the party following his disastrous performance in the first presidential debate.

The Harris campaign said in a statement these proposals for her first 100 days in office are intended to “bring down costs for American families” and will “cut taxes for the middle class, reduce grocery costs, take on price gouging, lower the costs of owning and renting a home, continue to bring down the costs of prescription drugs, and relieve medical debt for millions of Americans”.

High prices are the focus of the 2024 presidential election.

Former President Donald Trump has made it a key element of his re-election bid and held a news conference on Thursday focussing on inflation, which dropped under 3 per cent for the first time since 2021 according to data released for the annual inflation rate for the month of July. Acknowledging the centrality of the issue, Harris, unlike President Joe Biden, has taken on the issue headlong.

The plan, which was called “aggressively populist” by The Washington Post, proposes the “first-ever federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries” and empowering regulators to crackdown on violations; the expansion of the Child Tax Credit to provide a $6,000 tax cut for families with newborn children for the first year of their life; lowering the costs of prescription drugs and relieving medical debt; and a slew of measures to offset high costs of buying and renting homes by building 3 million new units over 4 years and a $25,000 down-payment subsidy for first-time home buyers.

“Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will work with businesses, entrepreneurs, workers, and all stakeholders to drive an economy that creates opportunity and ensures stability and security for everyone,” the Harris campaign said, adding: “They believe competition is the lifeblood of our economy, and they will build the confidence and certainty that helps businesses innovate and grow.”

The Harris-Walz administration will also be committed to fiscal responsibility and, echoing Biden, strive to do so by “asking the wealthiest Americans and largest corporations to pay their fair share — steps that will allow us to make necessary investments in the middle class, while also reducing the deficit and strengthening our fiscal health”.