THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION OF THE CAMPAIGN, AND KAMALA HARRIS FLUBBED IT. It's clear that Democrats and their allies in the press are euphoric over what they see as Vice President Kamala Harris 's overwhelming victory over former President Donald Trump in the first and possibly only presidential debate . But at the same time, there is a morning-after sense that Harris, buoyed as always by celebratory media coverage, did not really shine when it came to the most important issue of the 2024 election.
It's the economy, of course. Polls have consistently shown that voters do not give Harris high marks on the question of whether they have confidence in her ability to handle the economy. They think Trump would do a better job. And they rate the economy, specifically inflation and the general question of affordability, as the most urgent matter facing the country today.
The good news for Trump at the debate was that even if the ABC News moderators were biased, and they were, they still felt they had to begin the debate with the most important issue, which just happened to be Trump's strongest and Harris's weakest. The question went to Harris: "When it comes to the economy, do you believe Americans are better off than they were four years ago?"
It was perhaps the most predictable question and topic of the debate, but for a split second, Harris seemed surprised. Then, she offered this answer, which I'm including in its entirety from the ABC transcript :
So, I was raised as a middle-class kid. And I am actually the only person on this stage who has a plan that is about lifting up the middle class and working people of America. I believe in the ambition, the aspirations, the dreams of the American people. And that is why I imagine and have actually a plan to build what I call an opportunity economy. Because here's the thing. We know that we have a shortage of homes and housing, and the cost of housing is too expensive for far too many people. We know that young families need support to raise their children. And I intend on extending a tax cut for those families of $6,000, which is the largest child tax credit that we have given in a long time. So that those young families can afford to buy a crib, buy a car seat, buy clothes for their children. My passion, one of them, is small businesses. I was actually — my mother raised my sister and me but there was a woman who helped raise us. We call her our second mother. She was a small business owner. I love our small businesses. My plan is to give a $50,000 tax deduction to startup small businesses, knowing they are part of the backbone of America's economy. My opponent, on the other hand, his plan is to do what he has done before, which is to provide a tax cut for billionaires and big corporations, which will result in $5 trillion to America's deficit. My opponent has a plan that I call the Trump sales tax, which would be a 20% tax on everyday goods that you rely on to get through the month. Economists have said that Trump's sales tax would actually result for middle-class families in about $4,000 more a year because of his policies and his ideas about what should be the backs of middle-class people paying for tax cuts for billionaires.
We all know that Harris spent days holed up in a Pittsburgh hotel, practicing for the debate, holding strategy sessions, practice questioning, and dress rehearsals. So, we have to conclude that the paragraph above is exactly what she wanted to say about the economy. So, it is worth a point-by-point look.
Yes, Harris was raised in the middle class in Oakland, California, and, for much of her adolescence, in Canada. But no, she was not the only person on the stage with an economic plan for the middle class and working people. Trump has one, too — like Harris's, a mostly vague set of goals, but buttressed by Trump's record as president from 2017 to 2021.
Harris's plans largely involve the government giving people taxpayer money so they can pay higher prices. As is sometimes said in rural America, "That there's your problem." Harris began her discussion of the "opportunity economy" by focusing on housing. She did not specifically say that she would "provide first-time homebuyers with up to $25,000 to help with their down payments," as her website does , but that is the centerpiece of her housing plan. Now, it only makes sense that the government giving money to people to pay higher prices will mean that the prices will go up more. Harris's plan would be like "throwing gasoline on an already on-fire housing market," one academic expert told realtor.com .
Harris moved on to her $6,000 child tax credit proposal — Trump's running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), has said he also favors increasing the existing tax credit, but to $5,000. It is not clear how much of Harris's credit would be "refundable," that is, payable even if the person did not owe any taxes, but the Biden administration has favored making all, or nearly all, of such credits refundable. There is also the bigger question of whether it is a good idea. "Existing research, economists, and social scientists suggest that many of the proposals are too big, too broad, and not the best use of the money to help those most in need," the Wall Street Journal's Rachel Wolfe wrote.
Harris did not mention her other tax credit proposal, a plan to increase the earned income tax credit, which is fully refundable and the most fraud-ridden program in the U.S. government. In 2023, the government sent out an estimated $22 billion in fraudulent or erroneous EITC payments. It is an absolute travesty, and Harris proposes to increase it.
Harris's small-business deduction appears to be less than meets the eye. A Fox News account noted, "Under current tax laws, new business owners can already deduct most early-stage expenses, like payroll and equipment costs. Startup expenses, meanwhile, are defined under the tax code as those costs incurred prior to a business being registered with the federal government, which ... are typically pretty minimal." Fox quoted Heritage Foundation expert Richard Stern saying, "Harris's new tax deduction for small businesses isn't a subsidy for starting a business per se. It's only useful if you actually spend $50,000 on pre-business expenses. So, this is disproportionately a subsidy for larger starting businesses.”
That was it for Harris's much-practiced recitation of her economic plan. Viewed with even a minimum level of scrutiny, it wasn't much. Harris spent the rest of her answer mischaracterizing Trump's proposals, and then the debate moved on.
Did you notice something missing? For all her words, Harris didn't answer the question. The question was, "When it comes to the economy, do you believe Americans are better off than they were four years ago?" And Harris did not say. For millions of people, of course, the answer is no.
No wonder some undecided voters were more skeptical about Harris's performance than many media commentators. The very beginning of the debate, the most important question of the election — and Harris won't answer. Who could be enthusiastic about that?
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