Vice President Kamala Harris emphasizes building the middle class during a speech in Raleigh, NC. (Christine Zhu/NC Newsline)
Vice President Kamala Harris introduced a broad economic plan at her presidential campaign stop in Raleigh on Friday that focused on day-to-day economic issues many people face such as high grocery bills, the cost of raising a family, and affording a home.
Voters rank the economy as their top priority. Polls have shown that voters prefer former President Donald Trump on the economy, though Harris has cut into his lead, the Washington Post reported this week.
Her plan to build what she called “an opportunity economy” seeks to address the economic stresses pressing on Americans such as housing costs that discourage first-time home buyers, food prices, and high rents.
The US economy is the strongest in the world by nearly every measure, she told an invite-only crowd of about 100 attendees at Wake Tech Community College’s northern campus, with millions of jobs created during the Biden administration and with annual inflation dropping below 3% for the first time in three years. But not everyone is feeling the progress in their daily lives, she 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 just to be able to get ahead,” Harris said. “As president, I will be laser focused on creating opportunities for the middle class that advance their economic security, stability, and dignity.”
Among her proposals are:
Banning price gouging on food and groceries
Helping eligible first-time homebuyers by providing $25,000 in downpayment assistance to people who have paid their rent on time for at least two years.
Providing a tax incentive to homebuilders who build starter homes sold to first-time buyers
Expanding the existing tax incentive that encourages construction of affordable rental housing.
Restoring the $3,600 child tax credit that was part of the American Rescue Plan but expired in 2021. The one-year expansion was credited with reducing child poverty. After Congress let the credit expire, the child poverty rate more than doubled, making its largest jump in recorded history. The maximum tax credit is now $2,000 per child. In addition, Harris proposes to provide up to $6,000 in tax relief for middle-income and low-income families when they welcome new babies.
Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit for people in low-income jobs who aren’t raising children, to cut their taxes up to $1,500.
Most of her proposals would need Congressional approval.
Food prices rose during the pandemic as supply chains faltered, Harris told the crowd in Raleigh, but “our supply chains have improved and prices are still too high.” Most businesses are playing by the rules, but some are not, she said. Referencing her experience as California’s attorney general, Harris won more than $1 billion for consumers by going after companies that illegally increased prices or conspired with competitors to keep prices high.
“As president I will go after the bad actors,” she said.
Recent polls show Harris doing nearly as well as Trump with North Carolina voters, if not better. The campaign announced on Friday it is opening six more offices in rural counties, adding to the 20 it has in the state.
Contrasting visions for the country
Harris’s stop in Raleigh and former President Donald Trump’s campaign event in Asheville earlier this week offered voters the opportunity to compare the two presidential candidates’ economic plans.
In Trump’s freewheeling Asheville speech, which featured attacks on Harris as much as points in his economic agenda, the former president vowed to restart oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and speed up work on natural gas pipelines. Trump promised oil executives at a Houston fundraiser this spring that he would back their projects, the Washington Post reported.
Trump blamed Harris for inflation and promised an economic boom if he’s reelected.
Trump floated the idea for a tariffs of up to 20%, which would represent a tax on goods imported from other countries.
Harris said the tax Trump proposes would increase prices on everyday products.
“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,” Harris said. Trump’s plan would cost a typical family $3,900 a year, she said. “At this moment, when everyday prices are too high, he would make them even higher.”
Harris’s address was a departure from her usual stump speech. Though Harris dispensed with some of the lines that have become audience favorites, the crowd took it upon itself to chant them anyway. “We’re not going back,”the crowd roared at one point.
Harris appeared at another community college earlier this week. She accompanied President Joe Biden onstage at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Md. on Thursday, where the pair talked about negotiating lower prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.
Friday marked Harris’ 16th trip to the Tar Heel State during her vice presidency.
That 2008 feeling
“I have that 2008 feeling,” Gov. Roy Cooper said as he introduced Harris. The crowd erupted in cheers. “We in North Carolina know what that means, because that’s the last time we voted for a Democratic nominee for president: one Barack Obama.”
Brian Hamilton came to the event wearing a shirt with a comma followed by “la,” a play on Harris’ name.
He’s lived in North Carolina for all but five years of his life. He said he agrees with Cooper about “that 2008 feeling” and expects to see Harris take office.
Hamilton valued hearing about Harris’ specific economic agenda and how it would affect his personal life.
“I like the fact that she’s getting away from the name calling,” Hamilton said, comparing Harris’s speech to Trump’s usual orations. “The occasional jab is okay, but not to build your entire campaign around.”
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Publish date : 2024-08-16 10:41:00
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