Vice President Kamala Harris. the Democratic nominee for president, speaks at Carnegie Mellon Unviersity in Pittsburgh Sept. 25, 2024 (Capital-Star photo)
PITTSBURGH — Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, pitched her economic plan at Carnegie Mellon University on Wednesday, with an emphasis on helping the middle class. And while much of the speech focused on policy initiatives Harris has introduced before, she drew contrast between her plans and those of her opponent, former President Donald Trump.
“For Donald Trump, our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers, not those who actually build them. Not those who wire them. Not those who mop the floors,” she said. “He’s only interested in making life better for himself and people like himself, the wealthiest of Americans.”
Harris said under her plan more than 100 million Americans will get a middle class tax break that includes $6,000 for new parents during the first year of their child’s life “to cover everything from car seats to cribs.”
She said she also wants to cut the cost of childcare and eldercare, and give all working people access to paid leave.
“This will help everyone caring for children, caring for aging parents,” Harris said. “And that sandwich generation, which is caring for both.”
Her plan also calls for providing tax credits to companies that increase union jobs. “We shouldn’t be constrained by ideology, and instead should seek practical solutions to problems,” Harris said.
She reiterated her plan to give small businesses a $50,000 tax break, and to increase the nation’s housing supply. Harris also said she wants to cut red tape to build things more quickly.
“To paraphrase Warren Buffett, since the founding of our nation, there has been no incubator for unleashing human potential like America,” she said.
Trump, she said, wants to take the country backward, while her plan would move the country forward.
“There’s an old saying that the best way to predict the future is to invent it,” she said.
Harris praised Pittsburgh and CMU, for its machine learning programs and its robotics center, the largest in the U.S. She said those are industries she wants to see move forward.
“The proud heritage of Pittsburgh strongly reveals the character of our nation,” she said.
Harris also said she wanted to eliminate unnecessary degree requirements while increasing skills. That idea is one that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro already implemented in the Keystone State; his first executive order after taking office was to eliminate the degree requiremen t for thousands of state jobs.
Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, who is from suburban Pittsburgh, attended the speech and praised Harris’ initiatives.
“Donald is just so impetuous and so impulsive in everything he says about policy,” Cuban told reporters after Harris’ remarks. “You can tell that the Kamala Harris team has vetted every single thing she said. Not just ‘does it sound good, does it poll good’ but really, is it good, strong policy.”
Harris’ speech comes a day after Trump appeared in Georgia to detail his economic plans, including levying tariffs on exports, with a focus on China. He promised a 100% tariff on cars imported from Mexico and said he wanted to reduce taxes for companies that headquarter their manufacturing in the U.S., which he said would create a “manufacturing renaissance.”
Harris criticized Trump’s economic plans throughout her remarks, saying his proposals would hurt the middle class. ”In fact, his economic agenda would actually raise prices.” She pointed to a recent survey of economists by the Financial Times and the University of Chicago, where 70% said Trump’s economic policies would be more likely to cause inflation, but only 3% said Harris’ would be.
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The Trump campaign criticized Harris’ speech Wednesday.
“ She’s had three and a half years to prove herself, and she has failed. Personal savings are down, credit card debt is up, small business optimism is at a record-low, and people are struggling to afford homes, groceries, and gas,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump campaign’s national press secretary said in a statement. “Every time Kamala speaks, it becomes increasingly clear that only President Trump will make America wealthy again.”
Both presidential candidates have spent considerable time in Pennsylvania, a swing state that has flipped from Barack Obama to Trump to President Joe Biden in the most recent elections. Its 19 electoral votes make Pennsylvania a must-win for either candidate.
The most recent polls show the candidates are in a virtual tie among Keystone State voters.
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