Vice President Kamala Harris will present her economic plans in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday, marking the first time Harris has unveiled a major policy initiative since President Biden dropped out of the race last month.
Harris, speaking in Raleigh, said it was her 16th visit to the state since becoming vice president, noting that it was President Biden’s first stop since the ill-fated debate performance that ultimately led to his exit from the race. North Carolina is a key battleground state in November, and Harris is trying to convince voters there and across the country that her policies can lower prices and provide Americans with the economic opportunities they need.
“We’ve created 16 million new jobs,” Harris said. “We’ve made historic investments in infrastructure, in CHIPS manufacturing, in clean energy. And new numbers this week alone show that inflation has fallen below 3%. And as president of the United States, my intention is to build on the foundation of that progress. Yet we know that many Americans are not yet feeling that progress in their daily lives.”
New housing
Harris will call for the construction of 3 million new homes in her first four years in office. The Biden administration has previously called for the construction of 2 million new homes.
Harris will incentivize these new units with a tax break for builders who build homes for first-time homebuyers. She will also propose a $40 billion fund to help local governments find solutions to the housing shortage. The Wall Street Journal first reported on 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 fixing prices to raise 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 buy single-family homes in bulk.
Harris will also propose providing up to $25,000 in down payment assistance to Americans who have paid their rent on time for two years, with more support for first-generation homeowners.
Expansion of the child tax deduction
Harris also proposes an expansion of the Child Tax Credit to provide families with newborns a $6,000 tax cut. GOP vice presidential candidate and Ohio senator. JD Vance has made a similar proposal but more generally $5,000 Child Tax Credit expansion. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget pointed out that such an expansion of the Child Tax Credit, in Vance’s case, 150 percent above the current $2,000 tax deduction, could mean trillions in debt. “We could easily be looking at $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 of Vance’s proposal.
Vance proposed that the tax deduction he is proposing would have no income thresholds, while Harris’ proposal would apply to low- and middle-income families.
Harris also wants to restore the child tax credit for the pandemic era Levels of the American Rescue Planwhich would give working-class and middle-class families with children up to $3,600 per child.
She also proposes a $1,500 Earned Income Tax Credit for people in lower-wage jobs who are not raising children. The campaign also emphasizes that Harris will ensure that “no one making less than $400,000 a year will pay more in new taxes.”
Both Vance’s and Harris’s proposals would need to be approved by Congress.
Tackling inflation
Harris is expected to announce that she will make tackling inflation a “day one” priority, and will unveil a plan to lower costs for middle-class families, tackle corporate profiteering and generally focus on lowering costs for Americans.
In her first 100 days in office, Harris would work to lower the cost of groceries by working with Congress on a federal ban on grocery overpricing and other good and new powers for the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to impose penalties on companies that violate the rules, according to a campaign document.
Extreme consolidation in the food industry has led to higher prices that account for a large portion of higher grocery bills. Harris plans to crack down on unfair mergers and acquisitions that give big food companies the power to drive up food and grocery prices and undermine the competition that keeps prices low for consumers. And her plan focuses on supporting smaller companies, such as grocery stores, meatpackers, farmers and ranchers, so those industries can be more competitive.
According to the most recent CBS News pollOnly 9% of registered voters rated the state of the national economy as “very good,” with the economy and inflation consistently ranked as top concerns in 2024 polls. Inflation has cooled since its June 2022 peak, but many voters are still feeling the financial squeeze. Prices are still 20% higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, the Trump campaign accused Harris of trying to impose price controls, which it said “have been tried — and failed — throughout history because they inevitably lead to food lines, shortages, and skyrocketing inequality.” The Trump campaign also blamed Harris and Biden’s economic policies for the problem, “aided and abetted by Harris’s decisive votes on trillions in inflationary spending.” However, economists have said that pandemic-related federal spending by both Trump and Biden has fueled high inflation.
Friday’s economic policy statements follow Harris’ pledge to abolish taxes at a rally in Las Vegas last Saturday tips and minimum wage increases.
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Abolishing taxes on tips
“If I’m president, we will continue to fight for working families, including raising the minimum wage and eliminating the tip tax for service and hospitality workers,” Harris said in a speech to the rally, which included members of the Nevada Culinary union.
A Harris-Walz campaign aide noted that her pledge would require legislation.
This was the first time Harris has proposed eliminating the tip tax for service providers. It was a similar idea to one former President Donald Trump first floated at a rally in Las Vegas in June.
Lawmakers are expected to have a major opening on tax law in 2025, as several tax changes passed during Trump’s 2017 presidency expire. Control of Congress will likely be a key factor in the matter, as Republicans controlled the House, Senate and White House when Trump’s 2017 tax cuts took effect.
Stop price gouging
Since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris has emphasized her commitment to the middle class in her campaign in states where the election remains uncertain.
“If I’m president, I will continue that work to lower prices,” Harris said Friday at a campaign rally in Arizona. “I will take on big corporations that engage in illegal predatory pricing. I will take on corporate landlords who unfairly raise rents for working families. I will take on Big Pharma and cap the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans.”
Harris promised the more than 15,000 attendees: “Unlike Donald Trump, I will always put the middle class and working families first.”
Voters in all key states frequently tell CBS News that the economy remains a top issue as they head to the polls.
“Workforce development, job creation, making sure everyone can advance in different career fields,” Abraham Camejo said in Las Vegas ahead of Harris’ rally Saturday when asked about economic priorities. “The policies that benefit big business and the middle class are different.”
According to a CBS News pollWhen it comes to policies that will improve people’s finances, Harris trails Trump: 45% of registered voters say they would be better off financially with the former president, compared to 25% for Harris.
Before running for president in 2024, Harris went on an economic tour to address voters’ top concerns about the economy and promote the administration’s economic performance.
Aaron Navarro contributed to this report.
