Insiders in Vice President Kamala Harrisâ orbit are reportedly walking back her suggestion that her proposed grocery âprice gougingâ ban would lower prices for consumers, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
Harris debuted the âprice gougingâ ban proposal during a Friday speech in North Carolina, and she was roundlylambasted for what many criticize as essentially price controls. However, anonymous sources familiar with Harrisâ thinking clarified the policy to the NYT, saying that the âprice gougingâ ban would only actually take effect in emergency situations and thus would not be likely to bring prices down right away.
The Harris proposal would be specifically focused on the food and grocery industries, and it would not be determined by any specific numerical targets or barometers, sources familiar with Harrisâ thinking told the NYT. It would also apparently only kick into effect in circumstances like the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster or in the event of another pandemic, and since the U.S. is not facing such conditions at the moment, the plan âmight actually not do anything to bring down grocery prices right now.â (RELATED: âBad Case Scenarioâ: Former Obama Economist Slams Kamala Harrisâ Plan For Nationwide âPrice Controlsâ)
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Harris did not provide many specifics on her plan to prevent food companies and grocers from âprice gougingâ in her North Carolina speech, though she noted that the plan âwill include new penalties for opportunistic companies that exploit crises and break the rules.â Throughout the speech, Harris implied strongly that her various proposals, including subsidizing housing demand, will make life more affordable for ordinary, middle-class Americans who are facing the sting of persistent inflation.
The lack of details about her price gouging ban puts Harris in a political bind, according to the NYT: it is difficult for Harris to sell her proposal as an effective way to deliver relief to everyday Americans while her team downplays its impacts as others with knowledge of her thinking tell the press that the policy may not actually have any considerable impacts at all.
While former President Donald Trump, economists and the editorial boards of The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post sharply criticized Harrisâ Friday proposal as collectivist and poor policy, some in the corporatemedia, as well as other Democrats, have tried to defend the policy or suggest that criticisms are spawning from partisan GOP talking points.
âSheâs not for price-fixing; thatâs a distortion â thatâs a Republican talking point,â Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said during a Tuesday appearance on CNBC. âSheâs saying, go after companies in a narrow way, if thereâs evidence.â
The Harris campaign did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
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