What a Kamala Harris Election Would Mean for the Economy Across the US
With Kamala Harris as a late addition to the upcoming presidential race, there’s a rush to learn about her policies, particularly those surrounding the economy. Harris’s economic platform and policies mirror Biden’s, so the economic impact is likely similar to what was expected had Biden become the Democratic nominee for president.
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Harris has not been shy about her economic priorities. In a speech to the American Federation of Teachers on July 25, 2024, she said, “In our vision of the future, we see a place where every person has the opportunity not just to get by but to get ahead – a future where no child has to grow up in poverty, where every senior can retire in dignity, and where every worker has the freedom to join a union.”
Here are some of Kamal Harris’s campaign platform’s major economic planks and how they will impact the national economy.
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Reducing Child Poverty
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Child Tax Credit was expanded from $2,000 to $3,000 per child, with an extra $600 for children under six in 2021. This reduced child poverty to 5.2%, a historic low. In 2022, when the pandemic relief expired, child poverty surged again to 12.4%.
The Biden administration has supported restoring the tax credit to 2021 levels since it has been proven to slash child poverty rates. But the bill to do so has not passed the Senate. Harris may make the passage of this bill a priority for her administration.
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Supporting Middle-Class Families
As a California senator, Harris proposed the LIFT the Middle-Class Act, or Livable Incomes for Families Today. This bill proposed a tax credit of up to $3,000 per person for middle and low-income workers. This would have reduced the income tax paid by $3,000 per person or $6,000 per couple for those who meet the income threshold. Harris proposed this bill in 2018, and the cost of living has significantly increased since then.
Harris may not propose LIFT again as president, but she would likely sign a similar proposal if it were passed by Congress.
Support of Labor Unions
Harris has even more enthusiastic support from labor unions than Biden did and rapidly picked up endorsements from the American Federation of Teachers, the Service Employees International Union, and the granddaddy of them all, the AFL-CIO.
Under the Biden administration, labor unions have been able to secure higher wages and better benefits for their workers, and more workers have been able to unionize. This seems likely to continue and even expand in a Harris administration.
Reducing Healthcare Costs
In addition to her widely publicized support for abortion care and women’s bodily autonomy, Harris has also expressed her commitment to protecting the Affordable Care Act and increasing subsidies. She’s also a supporter of expanding Medicare in those states that have not already done so.
Protecting Social Security
Much has been said during this election cycle about the precariousness of Social Security benefits. With the country’s aging population and large numbers of Baby Boomers retiring every day, many voters are concerned about the ability of this system to provide income for them when they need it.
Harris supports the Biden administration’s position against cutting Social Security benefits and against privatizing Social Security. She has also said that she will increase the cost of living adjustments so that benefits more closely align with the needs of seniors today. In order to provide the funding needed for these policies, Harris has suggested revising the current limit on earnings that are subject to social security tax, now set at $168,600. Harris would require earnings above $250,000 per year to also be subject to Social Security tax.
Progressive Taxation
A cornerstone of Biden’s platform has been the promise not to raise taxes on anyone earning less than $400,000 a year, and Harris plans to continue that pledge. In order to pay for her ambitious social service programs, taxes will have to be raised on those earning over $400,000 per year, or about 3% of taxpayers.
Economic Growth
Like Biden, Harris supports measures that will support middle-class families. Years of so-called trickle-down economics have failed to deliver the promised gains, so Harris hopes to reverse that trend by increasing taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations to fund programs that improve the quality of life of middle — and lower-income families.
Editor’s note on election coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. For more coverage on this topic, please check out 5 Ways a Trump Win Could Affect Your Finances if You Make Less than $100,000 a Year.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: What a Kamala Harris Election Would Mean for the Economy Across the US