The new economic policy proposal of US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, on price controls has put her party colleagues in a difficult position and drawn criticism from the media that usually supports her. Her proposals were a response to the high inflation that is very high in the US.
During a campaign rally in swing state North Carolina on Friday, Harris unveiled several proposals aimed at lowering the price of food, housing and other essentials, including tax cuts, a federal ban on price gouging by food manufacturers (known in India as “profiteering”) and down payment assistance for first-time home buyers.
“As president, I will address the high costs that matter most to most Americans, like the cost of food,” she said. “We all know that prices went up during the pandemic as supply chains shut down and failed. But our supply chains have improved, and prices are still too high.”
When questioned by a news channel, Michigan’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer responded: “People are reading too much into what is being published.”
The Washington Post, which has supported Democrats for decades, wrote in an editorial that Harris had “wasted time on populist gimmicks instead of presenting a substantive plan.”
Republicans and conservatives, of course, have sharply criticized Harris for her essentially communist proposals. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the highest office, criticized Harris’ economic policies at a rally in Pennsylvania, another key swing state, saying she advocated “communist price controls” that would lead to “food shortages, rationing, starvation and dramatically more inflation.”
