Harris Releases Economic Plans

Vice President Kamala Harris described her economic agenda Friday in a North Carolina campaign speech. Harris’s proposals were widely described as “populist,” and also drew criticism from across the political spectrum.

Mirroring a policy championed by conservatives and pro-natalists such as Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), Harris also announced support for a child tax credit of $6,000 for newborns, and otherwise raising the tax credit for families to $3,000, where it was temporarily during Covid, from $2,000.

In another populist policy duplicating a proposal from the Trump campaign, Harris advocated ending taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers. 

On housing, Harris intends for the government to create a $40 billion fund for boosting construction, and for the construction of 3 million new housing units over the next four years. Harris also intends to provide $25,000 of assistance to first-generation homebuyers and tax-credits for first-time homebuyers.

One of the most controversial parts of Harris’s economic proposals came when she announced that, if elected president, she intends to use the Federal Trade Commission to impose “harsh penalties” on companies that are engaging in price gouging. Many have interpreted this as a call for price controls, a task possibly beyond the legal powers of the FTC

Harris’s economic plans have come under fire from surprising quarters. The editorial board of the Washington Post described her economic proposals as “gimmicks.” Likewise, in an article published in the Atlantic, Josh Barro, a journalist and self-described “neoliberal,” praised the politics but excoriated the economics of Harris’s plans. “The vice president’s campaign promises make no sense to people acquainted with supply and demand—but they might win elections,” wrote Barro.

Noah Smith, a liberal economist and Bloomberg columnist, interpreted Harris’s plans on combatting “price-gouging” as price controls, and subsequently attacked Harris’s proposals. “Price controls on food are a really terrible idea,” Smith wrote. “The best-case scenario is that the controls are ineffectual but create the legal and administrative machinery for far more harmful controls in the future. The worst-case scenario is that they cause shortages of food and groceries, leading to mass hardship, exacerbating inflation, and setting America up for increased political instability.”

Others, however, praised Harris’s proposals. Mark Cuban, a billionaire who had earlier thrown his weight behind Harris’s presidential campaign, praised her economic plan in a series of posts on X. “Sellers in Austin and many in Florida, where prices have collapsed are going to LOVE this,” Cuban tweeted about Harris’s homebuyer credit plan. “If you are going to complain, complain that all those sellers might vote for KH because there are a few more buyers.”

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