The newest set of economic proposals from Vice President Kamala Harris fanned controversy from both ends of the political spectrum, as she pressed on with her pitch in a string of Sunday morning talk shows. Democrats lauded the program, but the GOP panned it. Her program includes high food and housing costs, medical debt, and exorbitantly priced prescription drugs—longstanding issues for too many middle-class Americans.
Harris recently outlined her plan in a speech to ban grocery price gouging, cancel medical debt, offer a $25,000 subsidy for first-time homebuyers, and introduce a $6,000 child tax credit in a baby’s first year. The plan has received immense praise from entrepreneur Mark Cuban and others, though experts argue that it could raise federal spending.
Democratic leaders defended Harris’s proposals on Sunday, calling attention to the ways in which they could meet needs central to everyday Americans. Michigan Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer, a Harris campaign co-chair, dismissed GOP attacks, saying that Harris’s plan targets two critical budget concerns in housing and health care. “She’s got a plan on all those fronts to help more Americans achieve prosperity,” Whitmer said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”.
But the plan hasn’t convinced all. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries did not praise the policies, yet he had stated his openness to working with Harris on reducing costs for Americans.
He was also appreciative of Harris’ renewed emphasis on fighting price gouging, to which economic experts in some quarters have received with mixed views. “It’s reasonable for us to look into how we can stop it from occurring,” Jeffries said.
Across the aisle, Republicans had no hesitation in trashing Harris’s proposals by pointing out her prior positions and tying her policies to President Joe Biden’s economic record. Far from remaining silent, GOP vice-presidential nominee Senator JD Vance said on “Fox News Sunday” that Harris’s plan is both unworkable and unrealizable. “Day one for Kamala Harris was 3½ years ago, and everything that she’s done has made the affordability problem worse,” Vance claimed.
It was repeated by Senator Lindsey Graham, who referred to Harris as “the most liberal person ever nominated to be president.”
He warned that diving into Harris’s policy decisions could drag down GOP policies and rhetoric on the same issues and implored former President Donald Trump to not make personal jabs at her but instead to focus his attacks on policy.
As the political battle over Harris’s economic platform rages on, Democrats work hard to pivot the conversation toward areas where they have a clear advantage, like health care.
Another campaign co-chair, Sen. Chris Coons, pointed to recent White House announcements about prescription drug savings, credited Harris with helping secure passage of legislation aimed at reducing drug costs.
As the debate draws on, one would think that the economic proposals Harris gives will continually be a hot topic, with both sides digging in for what is likely to be one of the more contentious battles leading up to the next election.
