Harris Takes Aim At Food, Housing Prices As Part Of ‘Opportunity Economy’ Pitch

Vice President Kamala Harris, in her first major economic policy address since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, unveiled Friday proposals to ease the costs of housing and food as part of a larger effort to create “an opportunity economy.”

The speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, which had been widely anticipated to fill in some details of broader themes Harris has hit in her public appearances, also took a few jabs at rival GOP nominee Donald Trump and his proposals.

Harris defined an “opportunity economy” as one “where everyone can compete and have a real chance to succeed. Everyone, regardless of who they are or where they start, has an opportunity to build wealth for themselves and their children.”

The economy, and specifically inflation, is seen as one of Harris’ biggest weak spots , even as it has quickly recovered from the short but sharp downturn caused by the 2020 onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While joblessness has remained below 4% for much of Harris’ term as vice president, inflation on a 12-month basis hit a four-decade high in 2022 and voters remain concerned about how high prices have remained.

Harris’ proposals laid out Friday looked to assuage some of that concern and give voters a new target for their ire: greedy corporations.

“When I am elected president, I will make it a top priority to bring down costs and increase economic security for all Americans. As president, I will take on the high costs that matter most to most Americans like the cost of food,” Harris said.

“I know most businesses are creating jobs, contributing to our economy and playing by the rules, but some are not and that’s just not right and we need to take action when that is the case,” she said.

She cited proposals to penalize “opportunistic companies that exploit crises” to price gouge and to boost competition in the food industry.

On housing, Harris said she will “take down barriers and cut red tape” to increase the supply of housing, with a target of 3 million new homes available for purchase or rental by the end of her first term.

She also said she’d fight for a law to prevent corporations that own rental properties from colluding to fix prices and backed helping first-time homebuyers with their purchases by providing a $25,000 government payment toward their homes.

Harris also said her proposals, which she did not put a price tag on, would be accomplished while reducing the government’s budget deficit. She did not provide details on how they would be paid for.

Republicans have scoffed at the idea Harris will bring down prices when, they say, she was part of the problem by helping pass President Joe Biden’s COVID recovery and infrastructure bills that led to the price spike.

Prior to Harris’ speech, Trump on his social media site posted a video of himself and various food items he said had seen big price increases. “ THIS IS THE COST OF FOOD—IT IS TIME TO STOP THE DISASTER, VOTE TRUMP!” he posted .

Harris, in her speech, took a few swipes at Trump’s proposals. She hit hardest on his plans to impose a tariff of 10% on imported goods, an idea most economists say would increase prices paid by consumers.

“He wants to impose what is in effect a national sales tax on everyday products and basic necessities that we import from other countries,” she said. “That will devastate Americans. It will mean higher prices on just about every one of your daily needs. A Trump tax on gas. A Trump tax on food. A Trump tax on clothing. A Trump tax on over-the-counter medication.”

Early reviews of Harris’ proposals, with many details yet to be disclosed, have been mixed among Democratic allies.

Lindsay Owens, executive director of the liberal Groundwork Collaborative economic think tank, said the Biden administration had already taken some actions to deter price gouging in the food industry.

“But there is still more the government can do to reduce food and grocery concentration and stop the cheating that is costing families dearly,” she said.

In speaking with The New York Times , though, Jason Furman, who led the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama, panned the anti-price gouging ideas.

“This is not sensible policy, and I think the biggest hope is that it ends up being a lot of rhetoric and no reality,” Furman said.