Kamala Harris was recently elected to be the Democratic party’s main presidential candidate ever since Biden dropped out of the race last July.
Kamala Harris’s economic plan, delivered on August 16th, will aim at creating more opportunities for the American middle class, as well as creating a more even playing field where “everyone has a chance to compete and succeed.”
Her plan includes aggressively monitoring food supply chains and banning “price gouging”, and supporting first-time home buyers by providing them a down payment of $25,000. Many of her plans directly oppose that of Trump, with promises to maintain the independence of the Federal Reserve (which Trump had said that “the president should have at least [a] say” of the Federal Reserve’s decisions. She also made bold claims on taxes, such as a $6000 tax credit for families with newborns in their first year, and she plans on continuing President Joe Biden’s promise on not raising taxes for American households earning an annual income of $400,000 or less.
Perhaps her most popular promise is to continue the Biden administration’s plan on capping the monthly cost of insulin to $35. Around 61% of 1143 U.S. adult citizens surveyed for YouGov’s Harris Economic Policy Agenda strongly supported this idea, with an additional 17% somewhat supporting this plan.
Another popular plan is the banning of price gouging, with 46% of people strongly supporting this on the same survey, and 18% somewhat supporting it. However, it has also sparked a lot of criticism from economists, with this ban possibly decreasing the competitiveness of the market and discouraging firms from producing when it is not in their best interest to. In addition, the nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated that the policies in Harris’ economic plan would raise deficits by $1.7 trillion over the next 10 years.
Kamala Harris had said that “Donald Trump fights for billionaires and large corporations. I will fight to give money back to working and middle class Americans. “These economic plans will definitely prove to be popular to middle to lower class families in America, who make up a large portion of Americans (50% middle income, and 29% lower income). However, there are many that are vocal about their criticisms for her plans, claiming that they will lead to a less competitive market and greatly increasing national deficits due to her generous tax reductions and welfare plans.
Written by Vi Lam Dinh
