During a campaign speech in North Carolina on Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris vowed to make reducing costs a top priority if elected president. She highlighted her new proposals to address food and housing expenses, lower prescription drug prices, and expand the child tax credit.
Harris acknowledged that the Biden administration has made strides since inheriting a challenging economy from former President Donald Trump, but noted that many Americans have yet to feel this progress in their daily lives.
“Costs are still too high,” she said. “And on a deeper level, for too many people, no matter how hard they work, it feels nearly impossible to get ahead. As president, I will tackle the high costs that affect Americans the most, such as the cost of food. We saw prices rise during the pandemic due to supply chain disruptions, and while supply chains have improved, prices remain too high.”
Before her speech, the Harris campaign detailed her proposals, including a plan to collaborate with Congress on a “federal ban on price gouging for food and groceries.” She aims to establish regulations to prevent big corporations from exploiting consumers for profit. Additionally, she seeks to enhance the powers of the Federal Trade Commission and state prosecutors to impose “strict new penalties on companies that violate the rules,” according to her campaign.
The Trump campaign criticized the proposal, denouncing it as a “communist” policy and referring to the vice president as “Comrade Kamala.”
“It’s difficult to overstate how detrimental it would be to allow Washington bureaucrats to set grocery prices nationwide,” the campaign’s rapid response team said in an unsigned statement. “Such an approach would undermine the essential supply-and-demand principles of the free market and ultimately result in higher prices for consumers.”
In her remarks in Raleigh, Harris acknowledged, “I understand that most businesses are creating jobs, contributing to our economy, and following the rules. However, some are not, and that’s unacceptable. We need to take action when that happens.”
She highlighted her proposals to offer a tax break for homebuilders constructing starter homes for first-time buyers and provide a $25,000 subsidy to these new homeowners. Harris also pledged to reduce “unnecessary bureaucracy and regulatory red tape” and to support “innovative technologies while safeguarding consumers.” She emphasized her commitment to establishing “a stable business environment with consistent and transparent regulations.”
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Both of Harris's proposed policies have encountered resistance from Congressional Republicans. Senate Republicans blocked a provision to cap insulin costs on the private market in 2022, and earlier this month, they rejected a smaller child tax credit bill than the one Harris is advocating.
Harris also criticized Trump’s plan to impose across-the-board tariffs on imported goods. “He wants to implement what amounts to a national sales tax on everyday products and basic necessities that we import, which would devastate Americans,” she said. “It would lead to higher prices on almost everything you need daily—gas, food, clothing, and over-the-counter medication.” Trump has defended his tariffs as necessary to challenge foreign countries.
In addition, Harris condemned Trump’s attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, prompting chants of “We’re not going back!”—a recurring theme in her rallies. She also linked Trump to the right-wing Project 2025 blueprint and criticized his plans to extend tax cuts for the wealthy.
“He intends to provide billionaires with massive tax cuts year after year and reduce corporate taxes by over a trillion dollars, even as they record unprecedented profits,” Harris said.
In contrast, Harris has aligned with President Joe Biden’s commitment not to raise taxes on Americans earning under $400,000, indicating that she might extend some of the Trump tax cuts for lower earners beyond their expiration at the end of 2025.
Harris concluded by stating that she will soon provide more details on her plans to foster an opportunity economy. She framed the 2024 election as a choice between “two very different visions for our nation”—one focused on the future and the other on the past.
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