After running a narcissistic celebrity campaign for the last month, Vice President Kamala Harris finally dipped her toe into the policy waters on Friday.
The centerpiece of her economic agenda: opposing price gouging. She called for a federal ban on alleged price gouging on groceries within her first 100 days in office.
Harris is attempting to trade on Americans’ grave concerns about the affordability crisis to misdiagnose the problem so she can push a big government solution. Inflation has risen more than 20% under the Biden-Harris administration, reducing Americans’ real wages and living standards. (RELATED: ‘Bad Case Scenario’: Former Obama Economist Slams Kamala Harris’ Plan For Nationwide ‘Price Controls’)
“I have middle-class pay,” Jasmine Moore of Atlanta told the Wall Street Journal this week, echoing a sentiment felt by countless ordinary Americans in the Biden-Harris economy. “But I feel like I’m lower income.” According to Job Creators Network’s national SBIQ poll of small business owners, 60% say the economy and inflation are the most critical election issues.
Harris is trying to evade responsibility for her role in this cost-of-living crisis — such as her deciding vote in the $2-trillion Inflation Reduction Act, which turbocharged inflation — to pin the blame elsewhere and pander for votes. It is textbook demagoguery.
The problem for Harris is the data does not support her price-gouging claim. Wholesale prices — the cost of doing business — have risen in tandem with consumer prices. Businesses are merely passing on their cost increases to consumers at the same rate.
A customer shops at a grocery store on December 12, 2023 in San Anselmo, California. According to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation slowed in November as consumer prices rose 3.1% compared to year earlier. Prices of grocery staples like milk and eggs continue to decline. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
If businesses were truly gouging, as Harris contends, consumer prices would have far outstripped these wholesale costs. A recent major Federal Reserve study confirms that there has been no increase in business markups.
I spent 20 years as a leader in the food industry, and I can tell you firsthand that businesses can only absorb so many input cost hikes and remain profitable. If the costs of flour, yeast, milk, butter, and eggs increase, bakery prices rise too. If the price of lemons goes up, so does the price at the lemonade stand.
But Harris and so many Democrats don’t understand such basic economics. Perhaps this is because they so rarely have private sector experience. Harris was a lawyer before she became a career politician. Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was a school teacher before becoming a politician for the last 20 years. (RELATED: ‘Everyone Feels It’: Frank Luntz Says Inflation Is ‘Dangerous’ Issue For Harris Because Voters Blame Biden For Prices)
Today’s high prices are not due to price gouging but a result of the Biden-Harris administration’s reckless spending, including annual average deficits of $2 trillion, that bid up prices and devalued existing currency. The administration’s anti-energy regulations are also to blame.
Harris’ broader policy agenda is still a black box. This is purposeful. Better to run on media-stoked enthusiasm than on policies that would divide her supporters.
Harris can run from a broad policy agenda, but she cannot hide from her record. She has proved over and over to be a tax, spend and regulate Democrat with an even more liberal voting record in the Senate than Bernie Sanders. She is part and parcel of the current administration, which is one of the most progressive in modern history. (RELATED: Dems Hope Harris Dodges Specifics, Rides ‘Wave Of Enthusiasm’ As Long As Possible)
She supports a far-left wish list, including guaranteed basic income, single-payer health care, oil-and-gas drilling bans and cutting funding to police departments. She wants a wealth tax, rent control, and radical labor legislation called the Protecting the Right to Organize Act.
Her positions are more than the majority of Americans can stomach. Her nomination is a gift to former President Donald Trump and Republicans — if they can stick to the script. Conservatives just need to explain how her big government positions would exacerbate the cost of living and weaken the Main Street economy.
Americans should not let Harris redefine herself — with the media working in lockstep — as a moderate. A liberal never loses their stripes.
By choosing so-called price gouging in her foray into policymaking this week, Harris shows once again that she does not have the policy chops needed to help Americans and is not ready for prime time.
Alfredo Ortiz is CEO of Job Creators Network, author of “The Real Race Revolutionaries,” and co-host of the Main Street Matters podcast.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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