If the Democratic Party were the party of the working class, they would certainly show it in strange ways.
On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris made a pitch to the middle class while speaking at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh. His speech came as consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since August 2021 due to a slowing job market and rising costs of food, shelter and other necessities.
If this election is about one issue, it won’t be abortion or immigration. That would be the economy.
But Harris’ economic proposals are more about pandering than solutions. Her plan to hand out $25,000 to first-time home buyers, for example, is aimed at attracting younger voters. But how much will that perk add to an already high budget deficit? What effect will it have on inflation? How will it affect housing affordability in the long run? Is it? Mr. Harris’s guess is as accurate as mine.
What Harris wants voters to remember
During her speech, Harris criticized former President Donald Trump’s personal finances and portrayed herself as a champion of the middle class.
“For Donald Trump, our economy works best when it works for the people who own the big skyscrapers. Not the people who actually build them. Not the people who wire them. . I’m not the guy who mops the floors,” Harris said.
The Democratic presidential candidate also pushed a plan to revitalize manufacturing, preying on President Trump’s economic record. “Overall, nearly 200,000 manufacturing jobs were lost before the pandemic even during his presidency, making Mr. Trump one of the biggest losers in manufacturing history.”
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Of course, Harris wants voters to forget more recent history, when Joe Biden was in the White House and inflation reached its highest level in 40 years. He also wants to ignore polls showing voters trust President Trump’s handling of the economy more than his own policies.
The vice president’s speech was excerpted from her new 81-page policy book, “A New Progress for the Middle Class.” Speaking in Pittsburgh, he said his plan would lower costs and help the United States become a world leader in the “industries of the future.” Harris promised “common sense solutions to help Americans buy homes, start businesses and build wealth.”
But if her manufacturing plan is simple common sense, why hasn’t the Biden-Harris administration followed it for the past four years?
Harris’ economic plan won’t have a ‘positive impact’
I’m not the only one who thinks Harris’ economic plan stinks.
A spokesperson for the University of Pennsylvania said, “Her plan was not expected to have a positive impact on the economy for years to come.” The Trump plan would certainly increase GDP for several years, but the 10-year budget “It will decrease by the end of the period,” he said. Penn Wharton’s Budget Model told Barron’s.
The U.S. economy is currently a mixed bag. Stock prices recently hit record highs, and unemployment remains low (but rising).
But tens of millions of Americans say they are having more trouble paying their bills now than in years past. One of the big reasons so many people are feeling so much economic pain is that food prices have increased by almost 26% since Election Day 2020.
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The vice president had been given four years to address rising food prices and rising rents. she hasn’t done that.
Harris’ economic plan sounds like fixing up an apartment to plug a hole in the economy that is in dire need of major repairs and a gas tank.
President Trump’s economy wasn’t perfect, but it worked well for many Americans, and voters know it.
Even middle class people.
Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four children. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, delivered to your inbox.
