Policy positions are now clear
To the Editor:
Harris is focused on financial policies to benefit the middle classes. She proposes to reinstate child tax credits that Congress refused to extend and to add a new tax credit to the parents of newborns; provide tax credits to builders of starter homes, to first-time home buyers and to small business start-ups.
She will continue to negotiate lower drug costs and protect the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care, which has provided low-cost medical insurance to millions of formerly uninsured Americans) and Social Security benefits. She would impose a 25% income tax on income and unrealized capital gains on the 0.01% of the taxpayers whose net worth is $100 million or greater (i.e., the billionaires whose current average tax rate is 8% on income only). She will sign an abortion rights law should Congress pass such a bill.
Trump is focused not on improving lives, but on punishing almost everyone except the extremely wealthy. His signature campaign promise is a “bloody” (his word) deportation of millions of immigrants and the only reason he can make that promise is because, as a private citizen, he got the Republican Congress to kill a bipartisan immigration bill that had enough support from both parties to pass. He claims, as he has since 2016, that he will introduce a new medical insurance plan that will be “much better than Obama Care.” Despite six years of promises, no such plan has materialized. He will impose more tariffs (most administrations impose tariffs, which are taxes on imported products) he says to pay for childcare. The only flaw in the plan is that tariffs help the national economy by ensuring cheap imports do not undercut the costs of domestic products, thereby protecting American jobs. Tariffs do not directly benefit households, nor do any funnel into decreasing childcare costs. At least some, and sometimes all, of these tariffs are added to the cost of these imported products and passed on to consumers. He will make permanent the tax credits Congress gave to the wealthiest Americans during his first term. Trump will not commit to protecting women’s rights to abortions.
There are a zillion studies on the economy and economic statistics are tricky to understand and easy to manipulate for specific outcomes. However, almost all conclude that people fare better under Democratic administrations. In general, Republicans favor tax cuts on businesses, investments and high-income earners. Democrats believe in higher taxes on investments, big businesses and high-net worth families. Since the end of the Depression (which skews the data in favor of Democratic administrations if it is included), GDP grew an average of 3.6% under Democrats and 2.8% under Republicans.
Harris can only implement her forward looking policies that would benefit all Americans, not just the extremely wealthy, with a Democratic Congress. That requires voters to elect not only a Democrat as president, but also Democratic legislators. No one but you knows who you vote for. Make sure you vote your best interests.
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