Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled a new proposal Monday all but promising to distribute forgivable small business loans on the basis of race as she struggles to gain the support of black men.
The Harris campaign rolled out its “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men,” which proposes to give one million $20,000 loans to black entrepreneurs and “others who have historically faced barriers to starting a new business or growing an existing business.” The policy is aligned with the Biden administration’s broad effort to prioritize or otherwise incorporate race into several major government programs and initiatives, such as its payments to black American farmers who faced discrimination before 2021 and its Justice40 agenda stipulating that 40% of the benefits of certain environmental spending and programs flow to “disadvantaged communities.”
“Drawing on insights from her experience throughout her career and her Economic Opportunity Tour, today Vice President Harris is laying out an Opportunity Agenda for Black Men to provide them with the tools to achieve financial freedom, lower costs to better provide for themselves and their families, and protect their rights,” the Harris campaign wrote in its new plan. “This pathbreaking agenda includes: Providing 1 million loans that are fully forgivable to Black entrepreneurs and others to start a business.”
Kamala Harris – Opportunity Agenda for Black Men by Nick Pope on Scribd
Specifically, the Small Business Administration would team up with “trusted partners on the ground” to distribute the business loans to recipients under Harris’ new proposal. The forgivable loans are designed to boost “entrepreneurs who have a good idea but don’t have the resources, connections, or access to capital to get their business off the ground, as well as entrepreneurs locating in underserved communities.”
The forgivable small business loans are just one part of the new “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men.” Other proposals include enhancing job training programs for black men, launching health initiatives focused on conditions like cell disease that disproportionately affect black men and legalizing recreational marijuana and helping black Americans capitalize on that industry.
The Harris campaign dropped the new policy memo after recent polling demonstrated that the vice president is struggling to win the support of black men in the race against former President Donald Trump. Historically, black voters are a key constituency backing the Democratic Party and its candidates, so even a small or moderate drop in their support for Harris could be devastating to her electoral prospects.
In 2012, former President Barack Obama won the vote of black men between 18 and 44 years-old by a margin of 81 points, while failed 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton carried the demographic by 63 points in her race against Trump before President Joe Biden carried that sliver of the electorate by 53 points in 2020. Current data indicates that Harris is only leading Trump among those voters by about 41 points with three weeks to go until Election Day.
The Harris campaign did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
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