Harris’ New Plan to Fight Price Gouging Will Bring Much-Needed Relief to Black Households

Vice President Kamala Harris will unveil a first-of-its-kind economic policy Friday that goals to address the company price gouging that’s crippling American households. The plan will provide much-needed relief to black households, who’ve been disproportionately affected by higher prices.

On Wednesday night, the Harris for president campaign announced a brand new policy that seeks to enact a federal ban on corporate malfeasance within the food industry.

“Vice President Harris has repeatedly emphasized during the campaign that ‘food prices are still too high,’ and she recognizes in particular that rising food costs remain a top concern for American families,” the campaign said in an announcement.

The federal ban, which might have to be enacted by laws passed by the U.S. Congress, particularly targets the meat processing industry.

Harris’ campaign notes that the “highly consolidated” industry is controlled by just 4 large corporations that act as “middlemen,” buying animals from farmers and ranchers, processing them later and selling the meat to retailers like grocery stores. The campaign said these corporations not only raise food prices but additionally make the industry less competitive for small businesses.

The multi-pronged plan to lower the fee of food and groceries also includes authorizing the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to investigate and impose “severe” penalties on large corporations that violate the brand new proposed policy. Harris also calls for more federal support to help small businesses compete.

The Democratic presidential candidate’s recent plan to combat price gouging would especially profit black households, which data shows have for years faced higher and more volatile inflation than white households.

According to tests from the University of California San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy, black families experienced barely higher inflation and 13% more volatile inflation between 2004 and 2020. As a result, black consumers spend more on groceries and other household services.

He added: “If financial markets benefit wealthy individuals, the consumer market should also be prepared to cover the daily living costs of citizens across the country.”

Johnson said Harris’ policy announcement is primarily aimed toward protecting corporate greed, not inflation.

“This is not an inflation issue, this is an issue of greed,” he explained. “Her decision is to address the greed that is driving inflation in some ways and driving up the cost of things that ordinary citizens in different communities have to deal with.”

Johnson continued: “Her solution is to prevent monopolies from artificially raising prices.”

On Friday, while in Raleigh, North Carolina, Harris can also be expected to announce additional actions to address rising housing and prescription drug costs.

The Vice President’s policies come after the Biden-Harris administration recently released a brand new Consumer Price Index report showing that the 12-month inflation rate fell to 2.9%, the bottom level since March 2021.

In an announcement Wednesday, President Joe Biden acknowledged that prices are still too high but argued that the newest inflation report shows his administration’s policies are “making real progress,” noting that wages are rising faster than prices.

On Thursday, the White House also released the outcomes of its first Medicare price negotiations because the Inflation Reduction Act, which allows the federal government to negotiate directly with drugmakers to lower drug costs. The administration said the brand new pricing saved $6 billion on 10 drugs, and beneficiaries could save as much as $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs.

President Biden and Vice President Harris traveled to Prince George’s County, Maryland, on Thursday to attend a rally where they touted recent progress in lowering prescription drug costs.

The economy stays the primary issue for voters ahead of the November 5 election, according to a recent poll by The Economist/YouGov. Another poll by Laboratory of the Black Future in 2022, the economy was similarly found to be a very powerful issue on the minds of black voters.

Vice President Harris has made it clear that the prices to American families can be a top issue in her presidential campaign, which she launched on July 21.

“She is sensitive to the needs and interests of citizens and their concerns about the price of things,” Johnson said.

“It will be interesting to see what the solution from the other side will be and whether there is a real path that takes into account the interests of citizens and consumers, or are these simply points of view on the problem for which there is no solution?”

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