Kamala Harris Reveals Plan for ‘Opportunity Economy’
Three weeks after officially launching her campaign for the presidency, Vice President Kamala Harris has given an eager electorate a first look into her economic plan.
At a small rally in Raleigh, N.C. on Friday, Harris sought to set herself apart from her adversary, Republican nominee Donald Trump, and pave a new road for her prospective administration that deviates from that of incumbent President Joe Biden.
More from Sourcing Journal
The Democratic hopeful’s plan hinges on a concept she calls the “Opportunity Economy,” where “everyone can compete and have a real chance to succeed.”
“I do strongly believe this about two very different visions for our nation, one—ours—focused on the future, and the other focused on the past. We see that contrast clearly in many ways, including when it comes to how we think about the economy,” Harris said.
Painting a picture of an economy left in tatters by former President Trump, Harris spoke to the current administration’s work to bring back 16 million new jobs through investments in infrastructure, manufacturing and clean energy. “We were facing one of the worst economic crises in modern history, and today, by virtually every measure, our economy is the strongest in the world,” she said.
But while inflation dipped under 3 percent this month, its lowest rate since 2021, Harris acknowledged that “many Americans don’t yet feel that progress in their daily lives,” because “costs are still too high.” Essentials like rent, food, gas, back-to-school clothes and prescription medications are depleting incomes, leaving many left with no reserves at the end of the month, she said.
“Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency, because I strongly believe when the middle class is strong, America is strong,” Harris asserted.
The former prosecutor took the opportunity to highlight her record as Attorney General of California, where she went after corporations that artificially inflated prices on everything from medication to electronics, winning a collective $1 billion for consumers. As president, Harris said she would set her sights on companies that perpetuate price gouging.
“We all know that prices went up during the pandemic, when the supply chains shut down and failed, but our supply chains have now improved and prices are still too high,” she said, noting that grocery prices remain woefully elevated above pre-pandemic levels.
“Look, I know most businesses are creating jobs, contributing to our economy and playing by the rules, but some are not, and that’s just not right, and we need to take action when that is the case,” she said. One such action would be a first-of-its-kind federal ban on price gouging for food, which would “include new penalties for opportunistic companies that exploit crises and break the rules.”
The populist positioning pitted Harris against monopolistic conglomerates, firmly entrenching her on the side of average businesses and consumers. “I believe competition is the life blood of our economy, more competition means lower prices for you and your families,” she said.
Without deviating into a discussion on trade, Harris called out her opponent’s controversial “All Tariff Policy,” instead focusing on the impact that a universal tariff system could have on prices at retail.
“He wants to impose what is, in effect, a national sales tax on everyday products and basic necessities that we import from other countries that will devastate Americans,” she said, noting that it could raise prices on almost everything voters buy in stores.
“A Trump tax on gas, a Trump tax on food, a Trump tax on clothing, a Trump tax on over-the-counter medication,” she said. “And, you know, economists have done the math. Donald Trump’s plan would cost a typical family $3,900 a year. At this moment when everyday prices are too high, he will make them even higher.”
Harris also spoke to her plans to tackle the cost of drugs and healthcare, as well as the cost of housing.
“Finally,” she said, “there’s one more way I will help families deal with rising costs, and that’s by letting you keep more of your hard-earned money.”
Highlighting perhaps her most important point of difference in economic strategy from the Republican nominee, Harris said that under her plan, over 100 million Americans would receive tax cuts through the restoration of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and an expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC).
Enacted through President Biden’s pandemic-era American Rescue Plan (ARP) in 2021, the CTC provided a maximum credit of $3,600 per child depending on age and family income. Harris’ version of the legislation would expand the benefit for middle- to lower-income families for a year after a child is born.
“We will provide $6,000 in tax relief to families during the first year of a child’s life,” she 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,” she said.
An extension of the EITC, which was only in effect during 2021, is also on the table for Harris. The law increased the maximum tax credit for American workers without dependent children to about $1,500. She has also called for an extension of premium subsidies from Affordable Care Act, which were enacted by the ARP and are set to expire next year.
“Compare my plan with what Donald Trump intends to do: he 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.
Trump has indeed announced his intention to extend and expand the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which cut the corporate tax rate for high earners. “And that’s on top of the $2 trillion tax cut he already signed into law when he was president, which, by the way, overwhelmingly went to the wealthiest Americans and corporations and exploded the national deficit,” Harris said.
“You know, I think that if you want to know who someone cares about, look who they fight for,” she added. “Donald Trump fights for billionaires and large corporations. We—I will fight to give money back to working- and middle-class Americans.”
“Now is the time to chart a new way forward to build an America where everyone’s work is rewarded and talents are valued, where we work with labor and business to strengthen the American economy, and where everyone has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead,” she said.