Staff Reports
Vice President Kamala Harris recently made a rare public appearance to take questions about her economic plan just before the Democratic National Convention kicks off in Chicago. It appears inflation isn’t the only thing that’s rising these days—so too are the hilariously misguided ideas coming from the Biden Administration. Harris’s economic proposals have been likened to the disastrous policies of Venezuela and the former Soviet Union, but perhaps that’s merely a coincidence. It’s not like the Democrats are known for their originality.
One particularly eye-catching piece of Harris’s economic strategy involves a price-fixing initiative that would empower the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to slap grocery chains with hefty fines if they dare to set prices deemed “too high.” Essentially, the administration is suggesting that top-down price control will somehow magically lower costs rather than create food shortages and empty shelves. It seems the Vice President believes they can ignore basic economics while putting cash in the hands of “first-generation home buyers” in the form of a $25,000 payment. One wonders if she thinks this will also lead to a new socialist utopia sprouting up in suburban backyards.
WATCH: Kamala Harris Finally Takes Questions From Media, Delivers Rambling Word Saladhttps://t.co/H5ocRZEG9O
— Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) August 19, 2024
When grilled about how the administration plans to fund this fanciful economic Wonderland, Harris launched into what can only be described as a verbal platitude buffet. In classic fashion, she threw around terms like the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit without actually addressing the fundamental questions about the sustainability of her policies. The only clear takeaway from her convoluted speech was an assertion that the Biden-Harris duo somehow managed to single-handedly reduce child poverty by 50 percent. That mysterious accomplishment, however, came without any specifics or methods, because who needs facts when you’re selling dreams?
Critics from both ends of the political spectrum have taken aim at Harris’s proposals, emphasizing that even some of her left-leaning allies find her economic logic lacking. Even noted Harvard economist Jason Forman, who has roots in the Obama Administration, called her ideas “not sensible.” It’s almost reassuring to see liberal economists echoing the skepticism of mainstream conservative economists for once—perhaps they’re beginning to notice the ship is sinking and everyone’s invited.
One cannot help but recall the wise words of former President Donald Trump, who has been quick to draw parallels between Harris’s ideas and those implemented by Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. While one may yearn for a return to civility in our political discourse, a little humor and biting truth can go a long way—especially when discussing policies that lead to rationing and further inflation. The attacks on Harris’s economic strategy illustrate a growing bipartisan uneasiness with what has become known as the “Maduro plan.” If Democrats are genuinely committed to pursuing this kind of economic thinking, then the results could lead to more peril than prosperity, setting up an American economy that looks less like a shining free-market example and more like a menu from a failed socialist regime.
