Taking on price gouging and thrusting on sagging residential construction will likely be part of the agenda of a potential Democratic administration under Kamala Harris, according to a statement released by the Harris-[Tim] Walz campaign team. The statement is a prelude to Harris’ first major economic speech scheduled to be made at a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday.
Accent On Housing: Harris will launch a four-year plan to bring down housing costs for working families and also alleviate housing shortages, excerpts of the statement shared on X showed. The team said it looks forward to constructing three million new housing units to plug in the shortage in housing supply in the first four years, with involvement from both workers and the private sector.
The Democrats under Harris will likely seek to expand the existing tax incentives for builders to build affordable rental housing, offer first-ever tax incentives for building starter homes and set up a new federal fund to spur innovative housing construction.
The team also plans to clamp down on corporate and major landlords by stopping rent-setting data firms from price fixing to raise rents by double digits and forbidding Wall Street investors from buying up and marking up homes in bulk.
Harris also proposed a $25,000 down-payment support for first-time homeowners, which will likely benefit four million first-time buyers over four years.
Harris’ focus on housing as a key agenda comes at a time when homebuyers are disadvantaged by rising home rentals and higher home ownership costs, which is seen as a function of higher interest rates and the imbalance in housing supply and demand.
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Food Prices: Harris also suggested if elected, she would announce the “first-ever federal ban” on food price hikes, vesting federal authorities with sweeping powers to clamp down, the Washington Post reported, citing the statement released by the campaign.
This will set “clear rules of the road to make clear that big corporations can't unfairly exploit consumers to run up excessive corporate profits on food and groceries,” the statement reportedly said.
The Post reported that the vice president’s plan marks a further escalation in the economic populism of President Joe Biden.
Will Harris Go Further Left? The Biden administration went far left in terms of its policies, ranging from antitrust, trade, labor rights, industrial policy and also bypassed party consensus, with the government intervening in nearly every facet of the nation's economy, the Post said.
The vice president will largely tow in line with Biden’s policies, the report said, adding that apart from advancing her pet themes of care agenda, she would also be pro-union.
One aspect in which she will diverge from Biden is how she approaches businesses, the report said, citing her meeting with JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon in March. Zach Butterworth, who led private sector engagement for the White House and is currently a Lafayette Advisor, reportedly said, “Her team is smart to acknowledge there's a buildup of pressure in parts of the business community and it's worth talking to them. She knows they're an important voice.”
There are conflicting views regarding Harris’ stance on anti-trust policy. While left-wingers within the party have called upon her to stand behind Federal Trade Commission’s Lina Khan, the vice president’s ties with tech executives could sway her toward a more lenient approach, it added. As recently as this week, rumors abound about search giant Alphabet, Inc. GOOGL GOOG being on the brink of being broken up amid FTC’s crusade against it due to its search dominance.
Harris’ stances on cryptocurrencies will also be in the spotlight, given the current misgivings of the industry toward SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s tough position.
The vice president has already made it clear she is for the elimination of taxes on tips – a stance Trump also shares.
Harris’ campaign did a flip-flop on fracking, suggesting that the vice president is not against a total ban on it. Her team has also hinted at going back on banning cash bail, which facilitates the release of criminals by setting very low bail amounts, as well as healthcare, immigration and gun control, ABC News said.
The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF XHB climbed 1.79% to $110.97 on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, which ended Thursday’s session up 1.71% at $553.07, rose 0.17% in premarket trading on Friday.
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