By Jennifer Amarachi
Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, is expected to criticize firms for unfairly raising prices when she unveils her economic strategy on Friday.
The vice president, who took over for President Joe Biden last month, has been propelled by rising enthusiasm, which has been strengthened by new official numbers released this week that indicate the slowing rate of inflation.
According to a recent University of Michigan poll, more Americans trust Harris to handle the economy than her Republican competitor Donald Trump, marking the first time in this election season that the former president has fallen behind on the topic.
However, with the Democratic National Convention just days away, the 59-year-old vice president has come under growing pressure to tell voters exactly what she stands for.
While she has previewed a few proposals, she is yet to commit to a detailed plan for governing, instead casting the race to the November 5 election in broad terms as a “fight for the future.”
“Elections are about more than just winning. They’re about accumulating political capital for a specific agenda, which Ms. Harris can’t do unless she articulates one,” wrote the conservative Wall Street Journal in an editorial.
Harris’s initial economic suggestion, not to tax gratuities, puzzled some Democrats, who derided it as a “ploy” for votes because Trump had previously offered something similar.
On Thursday, she was on better ground, touting a likely vote-winning drop in medicine costs for seniors and participating in her first joint public engagement with Biden since she replaced him amid concerns over his mental acuity.
Harris is likely to call on Congress to pass the first federal prohibition on so-called “price-gouging” on Friday, along with sanctions for food corporations that unfairly raise prices.
Harris will also contrast Trump’s economic approach, according to US media, stating that his plan to impose tariffs of up to 20% on imports will raise prices for food and other necessities.
Some strategists have advised Harris to keep things vague, avoiding potentially controversial granular policy detail, as long as the wave of enthusiasm for her candidacy remains strong.
Others recommended her to create some distance between herself and Biden, who has battled with his approval numbers on the economy, although their joint appearance Thursday suggested they remain close.
Harris has adopted much of Biden’s economic agenda, promising to eradicate “junk fees” while bringing down prescription drug prices and housing costs — and keeping the president’s no-tax-hikes pledge for those making under $400,000.
On Friday, she will “launch an urgent and comprehensive four-year plan to lower housing costs for working families and end America’s housing shortage”, campaign officials said.
Harris would advocate for the development of three million additional housing units during her first term, increased tax breaks for builders of starter homes and rental housing, and a crackdown on corporate landlords who are raising rents.
Trump has been fuming since Biden dropped out of the presidential race and
handed over the baton to Harris on July 21, and Republicans have been pleading with the former president to focus on policy rather than personal attacks on his new opponent.
But Trump has been unable to remain on target, complaining about Harris’s audience size, insulting her mixed-race origins, and calling the former California attorney general ‘stupid’.
In a rambling North Carolina address Wednesday intended to focus on his own economic message, Trump devoted much of his time to personal insults and even stated that he is “not sure” that the economy is the “most important subject” in the race.
