Harris Campaign Launches Ad to Showcase Plans for 3 Million Homes, Curb Inflation

Vice President Kamala Harris has launched a new advertising campaign aimed at promoting her ambitious plan to build 3 million homes within four years. This initiative seeks to alleviate the pressures of inflation while also contrasting sharply with former President Donald Trump’s strategies regarding housing.

In a one-minute advertisement, Harris shares her personal story of growing up in rental housing, where her mother worked tirelessly for about a decade before purchasing a home. The campaign is targeting crucial swing states like Arizona and Nevada, and over the next week, campaign surrogates will organize approximately 20 events focused on housing-related issues.

As a part of her housing strategy, Harris proposes that the government offer up to $25,000 in financial assistance to first-time homebuyers. This initiative resonates especially during a period when housing costs continue to exert upward pressure on the consumer price index. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that shelter costs have risen by 5.1% in the last year, in contrast to an overall inflation rate of 2.9%.

Dan Kanninen, the campaign’s director for battleground states, emphasized Harris’s commitment to addressing the housing crisis. “Vice President Harris understands that we need to do more to tackle our housing crisis, which is why she has a plan to end the housing shortage,” he stated. He also mentioned her intent to take action against corporate landlords and Wall Street banks, which are contributing to rising rents and housing costs.

Harris plans to introduce tax incentives to homebuilders focusing on first-time buyers and aims to expand current incentives for companies involved in constructing rental housing. Furthermore, recognizing that local zoning laws often restrict home supply, she proposes doubling the available funding to $40 billion to encourage local governments to alleviate regulations that hinder construction.

Despite Trump’s background as a real estate developer, data indicates that a housing shortage was prevalent during his presidency, a trend that has persisted. This shortage intensified as inflation surged following the pandemic recovery and amid rising food and energy prices stemming from geopolitical tensions such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The increased inflation impacted President Joe Biden’s approval ratings, with Republicans and some economists arguing that his pandemic relief measures contributed to rising prices.

Simultaneously, escalating mortgage rates have made buying homes unfeasible for many potential buyers. Existing homeowners have been reluctant to list their properties, further complicating the inflation dilemma.

Trump has suggested various solutions to reduce housing costs, including a proposal made during a speech in Wisconsin where he claimed that halting illegal immigration would diminish housing demand and lower prices. “I will also stop inflation by stopping the invasion, rapidly reducing housing costs,” Trump said.

Another potential avenue for creating more housing could involve opening up additional federal land for construction. Economists who support Trump’s agenda have proposed that he could control federal spending if he were to return to the presidency, thereby reducing interest rates despite the budget deficits that grew during his term.

However, Trump has focused primarily on attacking Harris’s financial strategy for her housing initiatives. He has raised doubts about her ability to fund such substantial assistance despite his own criticism of her interpretation of taxes and revenue streams that, in theory, could help cover these costs.

At an August 19 rally in York, Pennsylvania, Trump stated, “She has no clue how she’d pay for $25,000 to every first-time homebuyer, including illegals,” making claims without substantial evidence that Harris’s policies would somehow benefit undocumented immigrants.

The Harris campaign has outlined plans for housing affordability events in several cities, including Lancaster, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. Additional events are set to take place in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, along with venues in Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada, as well as Charlotte and Asheville in North Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia.