The Harris Economic Agenda Has Two Gems Worth Mining

At their core, election campaigns are all about tapping into the zeitgeist of voters and then telling them what they want to hear, not necessarily what they need to hear. So, at a time when various surveys and studies consistently show that voters are feeling overwhelmed by high prices for goods and services, Vice President Kamala Harris has predictably unveiled a highly populist economic policy agenda that promises “to lower costs for American families.” Sounds great, but it likely won’t — with two exceptions.

The problem with the bulk of her agenda is that it relies on regulating prices and dangling subsidies to help Americans cope with high costs. On the former, the campaign envisions something akin to price controls on groceries, noting that “big grocery chains that have seen production costs level off have nevertheless kept prices high and have seen their highest profits in two decades.” Food prices have soared about 21% since 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.