Harris, Sketching Her Economic Program, Promises a Ban on Price Gouging by Food Producers

Vice President Harris announced a sweeping set of economic proposals on Friday meant to cut taxes and lower the cost of groceries, housing, and other essentials for many Americans.“Look, the bills add up,” she declared, trying to address the financial concerns that are at the top of voters’ minds and that Republican Donald Trump is attempting to blame on her.During a speech in the battleground state of North Carolina, Ms. Harris said that “building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency” as she promoted her plan for a federal ban on price gouging by food producers and grocers. She also proposed $25,000 in down payment assistance for certain first-time homebuyers and tax incentives for builders of starter homes.“Every day across our nation, families talk about their plans for the future, their ambitions, their aspirations for themselves, for their children. And they talk about how they’re going to be able to actually achieve them financially, because, look, the bills add up,” Ms. Harris said. “Food, rent, gas, back to school clothes, prescription medications. After all that, for many families, there’s not much left at the end of the month.”She stressed tax breaks for families, as well as middle- and lower-income people, promising to expand the child tax credit to up to $3,600 — and $6,000 for children in their first year of life. The vice president also wants to enlarge the earned income tax credit to cover people in lower-income jobs without children — which the campaign estimates would cut their effective tax rate by $1,500 — and lower health insurance premiums through the Affordable Care Act.Overall, the plans represent a continuation of many Biden administration priorities. Ms. Harris isn’t looking for any radical departures from President Biden, who stepped down from the race last month and endorsed her.Still, the vice president has embraced a dash of economic populism, shifting away from Mr. Biden’s emphasis on job creation and infrastructure to matters more closely tied to easing the cost of living — food prices, housing costs and tax breaks for families.Much of what she’s proposing would require congressional approval, which is far from assured in the current political environment, though, and Harris’ campaign has offered scant details on how to pay for the ideas.The vice president is seeking to blunt Mr. Trump’s attacks on her. He responded to her speech by posting on his social media account, “Kamala will implement SOVIET style price controls.” He gave his own speech Thursday, during which he displayed popular grocery store items meant to represent the high cost of food.Some of Mr. Trump’s economic advisers offered further rebuttals to Ms. Harris’ plans before she spoke on Friday, with Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the former president’s campaign, calling them representative of a “socialist and authoritarian model.”Kevin Hassett, a former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Trump administration, called it “completely preposterous” for the government to play a role in setting food prices, a reference to Harris’ proposed federal ban on “corporate price-gouging” on food.In her speech, Ms. Harris offered stark contrasts with Trump’s economic proposals, including his call for steep tariffs on foreign goods. She said that 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 will mean higher prices on just about every one of your daily needs,” Ms. Harris said. “A Trump tax on gas, a Trump tax on food, a Trump tax on clothing, a Trump tax on over-the-counter medication.” She added, “At this moment, when everyday prices are too high, he will make them even higher.”Year-over-year inflation has reached its lowest level in more than three years, but food prices are still 21% above where they were three years ago. A Labor Department report this week showed that nearly all of July’s inflation reflected higher rental prices and other housing costs, a trend that, according to real-time data, is easing. As a result, housing costs should rise more slowly in the coming months, contributing to lower inflation.Ms. Harris’ grocery pricing proposal would instruct the Federal Trade Commission to penalize “big corporations” that engage in price spikes and it singles out a lack of competition in the meat-packing industry for driving up meat prices.

Harris, Sketching Her Economic Program, Promises a Ban on Price Gouging by Food Producers

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