Kamala Harris Unveils Economic Agenda for Middle Class at NC Event

On August 16, Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a significant speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, outlining essential components of her economic agenda aimed at lowering consumer costs for groceries, drugs, and housing. This marked her first economic policy address as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Harris opted for a smaller venue at Wake Tech Community College, indicating her focus on pocketbook issues that resonate with voters. She emphasized that these economic matters will play a critical role in voters’ decisions as they contemplate whether to support her or her Republican opponent, Donald Trump.

The proposals Harris laid out include a ban on price gouging for essential food items, the restoration of middle-class tax credits, and initiatives to reduce prescription drug and housing costs while also addressing medical debt relief.

Harris’s plan aims to construct 3 million new housing units to combat the shortage of affordable housing and ultimately lower costs. Additionally, she called for expediting Medicare’s negotiation of prescription drug prices and reducing middle-class taxes for approximately 100 million Americans, proposing child tax credits of up to $6,000 per child.

“As president, I will tackle the high costs that matter most to most Americans, including food prices,” Harris stated. “We’ve all seen prices rise during the pandemic due to disrupted supply chains, yet even as these supply chains improve, costs remain unacceptably high.”

She provided concrete examples to illustrate her points, noting that “a loaf of bread now costs 50 percent more than it did before the pandemic. Ground beef has also increased by nearly 50 percent.”

The Harris campaign plans to urge the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to investigate corporations believed to be exploiting inflation by engaging in price gouging.

This address came a day after Trump held a news conference at his New Jersey country club, criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of inflation while standing among various grocery items.

Earlier in the week, during a campaign stop in North Carolina, the Republican nominee blamed Biden, Harris, and “liberal extremism” for the rising costs of energy, food, housing, and other everyday expenses.

In response, Harris spoke about what she termed a “Trump tax” on groceries and other consumer goods. This remark referred to Trump’s proposal to impose a 60% tariff on all Chinese goods, as well as a 10% tariff on nearly all U.S. imports.

“What Donald Trump plans to do is essentially implement a national sales tax on essential products,” she said. “This would lead to increased prices on nearly every item needed in daily life—a Trump tax on gas, food, clothing, and even over-the-counter medication.”

Harris also targeted Trump’s proposed benefits aimed at billionaires and corporations, contrasting it with her own priorities.

“If you want to understand who someone truly cares about, observe whom they choose to fight for,” the Vice President asserted. “Donald Trump advocates for the interests of billionaires and large corporations, while I am committed to fighting for working- and middle-class Americans.”