Harris’ economic proposals show compassion for the working class

On Friday, presumptive Democratic nominee for president Kamala Harris unveiled a bold vision for American economic policy that will put money in pockets of working Americans, help aspiring homebuyers, promote the health and well-being of children and families, and help end predatory corporate price gouging.

In stark contrast to the policies of former President Donald Trump — who used taxpayer dollars to line the pockets of his super-rich friends and multinational corporations — most of Harris’ proposals provide direct economic relief to middle-class Americans in critical areas of daily life.

Among her proposed economic policies are plans to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-wage workers by up to $1,500, restore the Biden administration’s COVID-era $2,000-per-child tax credit and raise it to $3,000 per child, and create a new $6,000 child tax credit for the first year of a baby’s life. The credit for newborn babies would directly address the findings of the Peterson Center on Healthcare and KFF, which found that women pay an additional $3,000 during the first year after giving birth compared with women of the same age who do not give birth.

Building on the work of her two Democratic predecessors, Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, Harris also laid out a plan to eliminate medical debt for millions of Americans and cap prescription drug costs at no more than $2,000 per year.

As vice president, Harris worked with the state of North Carolina to create incentives for hospitals that relieve medical debt or engage in proactive measures to prevent debt from accumulating in the first place.The program has been a resounding success, with all 99 eligible hospitals in North Carolina participating and more than 2 million North Carolinians already fully relieved of their medical debt.

Simultaneously, the vice president has been fighting to reduce the impact that unpaid medical debt can have on credit reports, working with credit reporting agencies to remove medical bills from the credit reports of about 30 million Americans.

Those efforts are in addition to overseeing Biden’s proposal to cap out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 per month, cap annual out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs at $2,000 per month and negotiate better prescription drug costs for Americans currently on Medicare. Medicare just completed its first full year of negotiating prescription drug prices with American families saving an estimated $6 billion. Friday’s economic policy document pledges to bring those savings to all Americans.

Other proposals seek to tackle the U.S. housing shortage and bring down the cost of housing for Americans. These proposals include $25,000 in federal down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers and certain limitations on services that skirt the line of rental market manipulation. The plan also offers important incentives to homebuilders to help the industry build the housing needed to reduce our critical shortages.

But the most surprising proposal in the document is Harris’ plan to ban price gouging in food by authorizing the Federal Trade Commission to fine grocery stores that impose excessive price hikes without a reasonable justification.

We doubt Harris believes that her proposal on this front would actually come to be without substantial modification. America hasn’t had food price controls this sweeping since Republican President Richard Nixon, by executive order, issued a price and wage freeze in 1970. Yes you read that right, a Republican most recently froze food prices.

As a practical matter, it is unlikely the FTC could do this on its own without congressional support. Defining price gouging is notoriously difficult and usually winds up in court.

We strongly suspect that Harris is offering this proposal for a different reason: It is a forceful opening to begin a national discussion about bringing down food prices and, yes, to protect against irrational increases. This plank in her policy is meant to bring industry representatives, legislators and regulators to the table together to find durable solutions to avoid food price spikes. In that respect, it’s a canny move on Harris’ part and it should reassure voters that the candidate is absolutely determined to help average Americans. For that matter, restaurants owners have been battered by high food prices too, and they can expect relief in a Harris administration.

Fully 38 states have laws protecting against price gouging in times of crisis. However, some states currently have general protections.

In Ohio, which isn’t exactly known for being a liberal bastion, the prohibition on price gouging applies to all commercial products at all times, and outlaws an “unconscionable act or practice in connection with a consumer transaction,” including prices that are “substantially in excess of the price at which similar property or services were readily obtainable.”

Michigan has a similar law which bans “Charging the consumer a price that is grossly in excess of the price at which similar property or services are sold.”

While certainly Harris’ detractors on the right will whine incoherently about her proposals and misrepresent them, American voters should look at these policy items and realize that the candidate is dedicated to protecting and promoting the basics that matter to all Americans, starting with family, housing and food. Nor do her proposals massively expand the federal deficit.

Instead of viewing Americans as nothing more than consumers and revenue sources, Harris views us as people, who want little more than a fair and honest opportunity to work hard to support our families and build a better life. Her economic policies reflect a decency and respect for working Americans that is sorely lacking in her opponent or his violent mob of followers.

We applaud Vice President Harris for her steadfast work to protect the American people from predatory business practices and for her bold new populist economic platform, and look forward to learning the details of her policy proposals in other arenas.