Kamala Harris releases economic plan aiming to lower housing costs, end price gouging
Vice President Kamala Harris will be unveiling her economic plans Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina, marking the first time Harris has released a major policy initiative since President Biden dropped out of the race last month.
New housing
Harris will call for the construction of 3 million new housing units in her first four years in office. The Biden administration has previously called for the construction of 2 million new homes.
Harris will also call for a new tax incentive for builders that construct properties for first-time home buyers and will propose a $40 billion fund to help local governments find solutions to the lack of housing supply. The Wall Street Journal first reported Harris' proposed housing initiatives.
Campaign officials said Harris will call on Congress to pass the Preventing the Algorithmic Facilitation of Rental Housing Cartels Act, which would prevent landlords from using price-fixing algorithms to increase rents. She also wants lawmakers to pass the Stop Predatory Investing Act, a bill that would limit tax breaks for large investors and private equity firms that acquire single-family rental homes in bulk.
Harris will also propose providing working families who have paid their rent on time for two years with up to $25,000 in down-payment assistance, with more support for first-generation homeowners.
Expansion of Child Tax Credit
Harris is also proposing an expansion of the Child Tax Credit to provide a $6,000 tax cut to families with newborns. GOP vice presidential nominee and Ohio Sen. JD Vance has proposed a similar but more general $5,000 Child Tax Credit expansion. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget pointed out that this kind of expansion of the Child Tax Credit, in Vance's case, 150% above the current $2,000 tax credit could mean creating trillions in debt. "We could easily be talking about $2-$3 trillion in additional borrowing over the next decade," Marc Goldwein, senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, told CBS MoneyWatch regarding the Vance proposal.
Vance has suggested that the tax credit he proposes would not have income thresholds, while Harris' proposal would apply to lower- and middle-income families.
Harris also wants to restore the Child Tax Credit to the pandemic-era American Rescue Plan levels, which would give working- and middle-class families with children up to $3,600 per child.
She is also proposing a Earned Income Tax Credit of $1,500 for those in lower-income jobs who aren't raising a child. The campaign also emphasizes that Harris will ensure "no one earning less than $400,000 a year will pay more in new taxes."
Both Vance's and Harris' proposals would require congressional approval.
Addressing inflation
Harris is expected to announce that she will make tackling inflation a "Day One" priority, as well as outline a plan to lower costs for middle-class families, take on corporate price gouging and an overall focus on lowering costs for Americans.
In the first 100 days of her administration, Harris, according to a campaign fact sheet, would work to bring down the cost of groceries by working with Congress on a federal ban on price-gouging on groceries and other good and new authorities for the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to impose penalties on rule-breaking companies.
Extreme consolidation in the food industry has led to higher prices that account for a large part of higher grocery bills. Harris plans to crack down on unfair mergers and acquisitions that give big food corporations the power to jack up food and grocery prices and undermine the competition that keeps prices low for consumers. And her plan aims to support smaller businesses, like grocery stores, meat processors, farmers, and ranchers, so those industries can be more competitive.
According to the most recent CBS News poll, only 9% of registered voters rated the condition of the national economy as "very good" with the economy and inflation ranking as the top issue of concern consistently across 2024 polls. Inflation has cooled since its peak in June 2022, but many voters are still feeling the financial strains. Prices are still 20% higher overall than prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Friday's economic policy remarks come after Harris' pledge last Saturday at a rally in Las Vegas to eliminate taxes on tips and raise the minimum wage.
Eliminating taxes on tips
"When I am president, we will continue our fight for working families including to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers," Harris said while speaking to rally attendees that included Nevada Culinary union members.
A Harris-Walz campaign official noted that her pledge would require legislation.
This marked the first time Harris made a proposal on eliminating taxes on tips for service workers, a similar idea to one first pitched by former President Donald Trump in June, also at a rally in Las Vegas.
In 2025, lawmakers are set to have a major opening on tax legislation given the expiration of some tax changes made during Trump's presidency in 2017. Control of Congress is likely to be a major factor on this issue, since Republicans held the House, Senate and White House when Trump's 2017 tax cuts became law.
Stopping price gouging
Since she became the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris has has been underscoring her commitment to serve the middle class as she campaigns across battleground states.
"When I am president, I will continue that work to bring down prices," Harris said at a campaign rally in Arizona last Friday. "I will take on big corporations that engage in illegal price gouging. I will take on corporate landlords that unfairly raise rents on working families. I will take on Big Pharma and cap the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans."
Harris promised the over 15,000 attendees adding, "unlike Donald Trump, I will always put the middle class and working families first."
Throughout battleground states, voters often tell CBS News that the economy remains a top issue when heading to the voting booths.
"Workforce development, creating job opportunities, making sure everyone can advance in different career fields," said Abraham Camejo in Las Vegas ahead of Harris' rally on Saturday when asked about economic priorities. "The policies that benefit big corporations and the middle class are different."
According to a CBS News poll, on having policies that will improve people's finances, Harris trails Trump with 45% of registered voters saying they'd be financially better off with the former president, compared to 25% for Harris.
Before she became a 2024 presidential candidate, Harris embarked on an economic opportunity tour, trying to address voters' top concerns on the economy and to promote the administration's economic achievements.
