Kamala Harris has taken aim at Donald Trump in her first policy-based speech of the Presidential election campaign.
Speaking at the campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Vice President pledged to introduce a new child tax credit of as much as $6,000 for families with infants, cut taxes for families with kids and lower prescription drug costs.
Harris is maintaining President Joe Biden's promise not to raise taxes on people who make $400,000 or less a year, and her campaign aims to draw a contrast on taxes with Trump.
While in office, the former Republican President slashed the corporate tax rate to 21 per cent from 35 per cent and implemented other tax breaks that are set to expire next year.
Democratic US presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on her policy platform
Reuters
Harris told supporters: "I will be laser-focused on creating opportunities for the middle class. Together we will build what I call an opportunity economy."
However, the Vice President's agenda may run into resistance from both corporations and Congress, who rejected similar proposals when they came from President Biden.
Her economic agenda broadly mirrors Biden's but introduces some new homebuying incentives and attempts to control the high prices of goods. Democrats are hoping to appeal to a broad segment of the working public who often see Republicans as better economic stewards and are anxious over both higher costs and their economic prospects.
Some of her policies, including ones on housing and groceries, have come under attack as ill-considered and overly liberal populism by Republicans and some industry groups.
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Kamala Harris speaking at the rally
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Harris's plan includes a federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries, which her campaign says aims to stop big corporations from unfairly exploiting consumers while generating excessive corporate profits.
As president, she will direct the Federal Trade Commission to impose "harsh penalties" on firms that break new limits on price gouging, campaign officials said.
Her plan calls for three million new construction units, a series of tax incentives and other measures to encourage building homes for first-time homebuyers and a $25,000 credit for such buyers. Harris also aims to expand rental assistance, ban rental price-fixing and stop Wall Street firms from buying homes in bulk.
Harris also is pushing to lower healthcare costs, cancel medical debt and highlight how the Biden-Harris administration negotiated down the prices of 10 top-selling prescription drugs used by Medicare by as much as 79 per cent.
Republican presidential candidate, former US President Donald Trump
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Trump has promised to make the tax cuts permanent and suggested new across-the-board tariffs on imports, an idea Harris rejects. Trump's campaign on Wednesday tied Harris to Biden's economic record.
Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said: "America cannot afford another four years of Kamala’s failed economic policies.
"President Trump has a proven track record of making this country prosperous and affordable, and Americans can trust him to put more money back in their pockets again."
