Harris unveiled her economic agenda prior to her debate with Trump on Sept. 10, which includes a variety of proposals such as taxation, inflation, raising the minimum wage, addressing housing shortages, and reducing bureaucratic hurdles. This marks the first time her campaign has detailed a policy platform since President Biden ended his reelection bid and Harris became the Democratic nominee. Harris’s economic vision aligns with President Biden’s 2024 election strategy by promising tax cuts for working- and middle-class families, while ensuring the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share. The campaign plans to reverse Trump-era tax cuts, implement a billionaire minimum tax, increase taxes on stock buybacks, and introduce a 28 percent tax on long-term capital gains for high-earning Americans. Additionally, Harris aims to restore the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Cut, while advocating for a minimum wage increase and ending subminimum wages for certain workers. She also intends to eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers, following a similar proposal by former President Trump. The campaign also focuses on housing and healthcare by addressing affordability issues, such as constructing 3 million rental units and homes to make housing more affordable and home ownership more accessible. Harris also supports extending caps on insulin prices and out-of-pocket spending for health care. Furthermore, she plans to continue efforts to forgive student loan debt and maintain current energy policies. The campaign estimates approximately $5 trillion in tax hikes without spending cuts over the next decade. These measures are positioned in contrast to Trump’s economic plans, which include goals of ending inflation, halting outsourcing, offering tax cuts for workers, maintaining the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency, and canceling the current administration’s electric vehicle mandate. The most recent campaign update aims to outline a clear economic agenda in preparation for the upcoming presidential debate on September 10.
The presidential race is tight, with polls showing Trump leading by 1 point in a New York Times-Siena poll, a tie in a Harvard-Harris survey, and Harris gaining 2 points in a national Emerson College Polling survey.
Despite the close race, Trump continues to outperform Harris on the economy, with an 8-point advantage in a September 1 ABC News-Ipsos survey.
The economy is a top concern for voters, with 43 percent citing it as their primary issue, according to the Emerson survey released on September 5.
While the U.S. GDP is growing and inflation rates are stabilizing, public concerns about the economy persist, including high prices and a slowing labor market.
Recent surveys, such as The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index in August, show consumer worries about inflation and the labor market.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Survey of Consumer Expectations predicts above-trend inflation in the coming year, higher than the central bank’s target rate.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the August consumer price index on September 11, with the Cleveland Fed’s Inflation Nowcasting model forecasting a 2.6 percent annual inflation rate.
Data from the New York Fed indicate that over one-third of consumers expect higher unemployment rates in the next year.
In August, the U.S. economy added 142,000 new jobs, below expectations, and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.2 percent.
The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index also fell short of market expectations in August.
The first debate between Trump and Harris, hosted by ABC News, is scheduled for 9 p.m. EST on September 10. Can you paraphrase this sentence for me?
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