Simone Del Rosario: The honeymoon period is over for Kamala Harris and it’s time to put pen to paper. 

In her first policy address since taking over the ticket, Harris laid out a plan that resembles Biden 2.0. The policies and talking points are similar, the proposals go one step further. 

Joe Biden: Too many corporations raise prices to pad their profits, charging more and more for less and less. That’s why we’re cracking down on corporations that engage in price gouging and deceptive pricing. 

Kamala Harris: Look, I know most businesses are creating jobs, contributing to our economy, and playing by the rules. Some are not. And that’s just not right. And we need to take action. When that is the case.

Simone Del Rosario: Biden made price gouging a key talking point of his presidency, especially when it came to Big Pharma. He touted paving the way for Medicare to negotiate drug prices and formed a strike force on unfair and illegal pricing led by the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission. 

Harris says she’ll go one step further, supporting a federal ban on price gouging, which critics are calling price controls. Most states already have some type of price gouging ban in effect during emergencies. This would expand bans and enforcement to the federal level and the FTC. 

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced a bill in the Senate that would do just this back in February. That bill makes it illegal for a person to sell something at a grossly excessive price, leaving the FTC to define what is considered “grossly excessive.”

Republican Sen. Mike Lee posted, “Government-imposed price controls create scarcity and a vicious cycle of poverty and dependence on government. So naturally, Kamala Harris likes them.”

Grocery prices have climbed 21% since President Biden took office. Democrats blame corporate greed while Republicans blame federal spending. 

While grocers did see elevated profit margins during the height of inflation, an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco said markups are not the main driver of inflation post-pandemic, saying supply chain shocks are a big reason why prices of goods increased.

Former President Trump also highlighted grocery prices this week. So what’s his answer if elected in November?

Donald Trump: We’re going to drill, baby drill that’s going to bring down prices of everything, because energy brought it up.

Joe Biden: I’ve cut red tape so more builders can get federal financing, which is already helping build a record 1.7 million housing units nationwide. Now pass my plan to build and renovate 2 million affordable homes and bring those rents down.

Kamala Harris: And by the end of my first term, we will end America’s housing shortage by building 3 million new homes and rentals that are affordable for the middle class.

Simone Del Rosario: Harris is building off Biden’s housing hopes to increase inventory and affordability. 

Last year, a measure of housing affordability hit its lowest level in nearly four decades, meaning the typical American family cannot afford the typical American home. 

Instead of Biden’s plan to build 2 million affordable homes, Harris’ goes one step further, calling for 3 million new housing units in a first term, including a tax incentive for builders to expand supply. 

Harris is also proposing a $25,000 tax credit for first-time buyers as a down payment assistance. This would require congressional approval. 

Trump also talked about housing needs this week.

Donald Trump: We’re going to open up tracks of federal land for housing construction. We desperately need housing for people who can’t afford what’s going on now. 

Simone Del Rosario: The majority of federal land is controlled by the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife, the National Park Service and the Department of Agriculture.

Joe Biden: Restore the Child Tax Credit because no child should go hungry in this country! The way to make the tax code fair is to make big corporations and the very wealthy finally pay their share. 

Kamala Harris: Under my plan, more than 100 million Americans will get a tax cut, and we will do this by restoring two tax cuts designed to help middle class and working Americans the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit.

Simone Del Rosario: Like all the proposals detailed before, Harris’ plan for the child tax credit goes one step further than Biden’s. Biden called for the pandemic-era Child Tax Credits to be permanent, at $3,600 a child. When the policy expired, it went back down to $2,000 a year. 

Harris is on board with the expanded tax credit, but is also pushing for a baby-bonus-esque policy where parents receive $6,000 the first year the child is born. 

A baby bonus is also on the mind of her opponent:

Donald Trump: We will support baby boomers and we will support baby bonuses for a new baby boom how does that sound that sounds pretty, I want a baby boom.

Simone Del Rosario: While his new running mate, Sen. JD Vance, is going one step further than Harris with his stance.

JD Vance: I think one of the things you can do is make it bigger per child. I think we’d love to see it at a higher dollar value. And again, President Trump and I have proposed that. I mean, look, I’d love to see a child tax credit that’s $5,000 per child.

Simone Del Rosario: Despite the appearance of bipartisan support, a bill that would have extended the popular pandemic-era tax credit failed to pass the Senate after a majority of Republicans opposed it. 

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