The New York Times reported that Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee in the United States, plans to generally continue President Joe Biden’s economic policies with a focus on controlling inflation and regulating excessive market dominance by large corporations.
According to the report on the 14th local time, Vice President Harris is expected to present her economic vision in Raleigh, North Carolina on the 16th, and it is anticipated that the essence of her plan will not differ significantly from President Biden’s approach.
Furthermore, the report cited sources that Vice President Harris plans to shift the economic policy focus from job creation and strengthening American manufacturing, emphasized by President Biden, to controlling inflation.
The newspaper suggested that Vice President Harris may go further than President Biden in attacking large corporations that use market dominance to raise prices. This policy is seen not only as a response to the positive reaction from competition state voters in polls but also as an attempt by Americans to shift some responsibility for the high inflation experienced at the beginning of the Biden administration.
Advisors believe that given Vice President Harris’s track record of overseeing companies while in the prosecutor’s office and rigorously cracking down on companies that violated the law, this policy could also underscore her prosecutorial background. The newspaper reported that Vice President Harris is expected to refrain from including detailed content in her speech on the 16th in line with advice from advisors to not approach economic policy too specifically.
This strategic ambiguity was highlighted by the New York Times as a significant difference from President Biden, who had announced detailed policy plans. Some of Vice President Harris’s advisors believe that the lack of clear policy on major issues such as trade and taxes could help garner support from business groups disliking the policies of the Biden administration.
By not disclosing detailed content, Vice President Harris can also prevent attacks on specific policies. The newspaper assessed that Vice President Harris’s sudden nomination as a candidate without going through a lengthy primary process due to Vice President Biden’s resignation made it possible for her not to present detailed policy pledges.
Ben Harris, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the Treasury Department who drafted President Biden’s economic policy during the 2020 presidential election, stated that Vice President Harris would likely emphasize the most important policies from the Biden administration’s extensive policies that have been accumulated.
Vice President Harris plans to advocate for expanded child tax credits, corporate tax increases, and higher income tax rates for the wealthy in her speech, aligning with content presented during President Biden’s tenure. She has also pledged to strengthen the middle class by raising the minimum wage and increasing paid leave for workers in recent campaigns.
However, it is expected that she will not disclose specific plans for how much to raise the minimum wage or how to handle the income tax deduction expiring next year for the time being.
Many of the economic advisors advising Vice President Harris, both officially and unofficially, are former members of the Biden administration. They include Mike Pyle, former Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs at the White House, Gene Sperling, White House Economic Advisor, and Bharat Ramamurti, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council (NEC).
Brian Deese, former chairman of the NEC, who is known for designing key economic policies of President Biden such as infrastructure law, semiconductor law, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), is also among them.