The vice president is redoubling his efforts to promote “Kamunism”.
Kamala Harris’ campaign released an ad Tuesday highlighting the Democratic nominee’s widely criticized push for a nationwide ban on so-called price gouging — despite estimates the plan will push the U.S. trillions deeper into the red.
“We all know the costs are too high. But while companies are ripping off families, [Republican nominee Donald] “Trump is focused on delivering tax cuts,” the narrator of the spot, titled “Onward,” intones, before adding the promise that Harris would “make food more affordable by cracking down on price gouging.”
Harris unveiled a series of economic proposals on August 16, including a “federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries” — though she was vague about how the restriction would actually work.
Some Democrats had already introduced federal legislation to curb so-called price gouging, giving the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general broad authority to target companies.
Dozens of states already have price gouging bans in place, but those policies are typically tied to statewide emergencies, such as hurricanes and other natural disasters.
Critics, including many Republicans, have accused Harris of pursuing state price controls, which have long caused product shortages and other economic shocks where they have been tried.
“Price controls don’t suppress inflation,” Brian Riedl, a senior fellow in economics at the Manhattan Institute, told the Post. “They only delay it, causing huge shortages in the meantime.”
Following the backlash to the proposal, some Democratic lawmakers have reportedly quietly tried to reassure allies that Harris’ plan could not pass Congress.
Consumer prices have jumped 21% since February 2020, according to data from the St. Louis Federal Reserve.
Conservative economists have blamed inflation on high federal deficits, coupled with accommodative monetary policy during and immediately after the pandemic, while the Harris-Biden administration has blamed rising global food and fuel prices on pandemic-related supply chain disruptions as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In addition to the price gouging ban, Harris also proposed child tax credits of up to $6,000 for low- and middle-income families, up to $25,000 in “down payment assistance” for first-time homebuyers, a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs, and more.
