Vice President Kamala Harris is stepping up her campaign efforts as the 2024 presidential election approaches, following President Biden's unexpected withdrawal from the race. With her recent nomination, Harris engages with some of the most pressing issues currently stirring debate across the nation, including economic policies, healthcare, climate, and immigration. The coming months are proving to be pivotal for her campaign, as she seeks to establish her platform and secure voter support.
Recently, Harris faced off against former President Donald Trump during their first — and potentially only — debate for the 2024 campaign, which provided voters with insight on their respective stances on important topics such as the economy, immigration, and abortion. The debate highlighted not just their differences but also Harris’s messaging aimed at energizing her voter base just before the election.
One key aspect of Harris’s proposals includes her tax plan. Unlike Trump, who advocates for maintaining tax cuts implemented during his presidency, Harris proposes to raise corporate taxes to fund substantial tax benefits for families. According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, under her plan, about 95% of Americans would see lower taxes, particularly helping those with lower incomes, whereas high earners would face increased tax burdens. Specifically, those in the top 0.1%—earning more than $14 million annually—would expect to pay roughly $167,000 more under her initiative.
Further elaboration of her taxation strategy also includes eliminating federal taxes on tips, which transcends partisan proposals, and elevated support for small businesses. Harris wants to substantially increase the startup expense deduction for new businesses from $5,000 to $50,000, allowing them to take advantage of this deduction when they begin turning profits rather than at the outset when they often incur losses.
Harris also aims to bolster the child tax credit, proposing to raise it to $6,000 for parents of newborns and return to the pandemic-era enhancement of the credit, which allowed families to receive up to $3,600 for each child under the age of six. Her ambitious plan seeks to provide necessary financial help to families, addressing economic pressures faced by many Americans today.
Addressing another pressing social issue, Harris has unveiled her strategy to tackle the national housing shortage. She promises to build 3 million new affordable homes and rentals by the end of her first term. To facilitate this, she proposes tax incentives for builders who specialize in homes for first-time buyers and plans to allocate $40 billion to help local governments create solutions for low housing inventories. Her proposal also includes down-payment assistance for Americans who have consistently paid their rent, offering up to $25,000 as part of the effort to improve housing accessibility.
On the matter of inflation, which remains at elevated levels, Harris attempts to cushion the impact on lower- and middle-income families. She places blame on price gouging by suppliers and grocery chains, voicing her intention to push for the first-ever federal law against price gouging. Economists, meanwhile, note the complexity surrounding causes of inflation, leading to skepticism about the effectiveness of her proposed measure. Nonetheless, she remains committed to pushing this agenda as the economy continues to navigate recovery challenges post-pandemic.
Harris's commitment to healthcare shines through her focus on lowering prescription drug prices, following the Biden administration's effort to negotiate lower drug prices through Medicare agreements. Her decisive action during the vote for the Inflation Reduction Act played a significant role, allowing Medicare to negotiate cheaper drug prices for many patients, achieving savings of 38% to 79% on certain medications.
Immigration remains another area where Harris has yet to fully articulate her policy platform. At rallies, Harris has often pointed to the bipartisan border security deal, originally derailed by Trump’s influence on GOP lawmakers, as a necessary measure she would revive if elected. The proposed legislation previously aimed to strengthen border control and security procedures instead of addressing current pathways for undocumented immigrants toward citizenship—a topic she alluded to as having strong backing from voters during her campaign events.
Meanwhile, discussions surrounding abortion rights have taken center stage as Harris emphasizes the importance of protecting these rights, particularly following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade. Contrasting with Trump—who celebrates the appointment of justices who upheld this decision—Harris’s campaign hinges on proposing legislation to restore federal protections for abortion access, advocating for women's rights across the country.
Overall, the 2024 election offers Harris with the chance to solidify her agenda and distinguish herself from Trump on these pivotal issues. With the underlying tension built from her predecessor’s policies and the urgency of voter sentiment, her strategies from now until election day will be critically examined by both supporters and detractors alike. She has not made all her policy positions explicit, but the stage is set for what could evolve as one of the most contentious elections to date as voters weigh the implications of their choices.
