Several progressive economists were among more than 400 policy experts who signed onto an endorsement of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday, arguing that the Democratic presidential candidate's proposals for an "opportunity economy" would improve the financial well-being of families across the country.
Stony Brook University professor Stephanie Kelton, a leading proponent of modern monetary theory; Center for Economic and Policy Research senior economist Dean Baker; University of California Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, whose work has focused on economic inequality; and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich were among the experts who signed the statement of support.
The economists noted that while working with President Joe Biden—who set out to be the "most pro-labor president" in U.S. history and has enacted numerous pro-worker policies—Harris "has taken action to strengthen sectors critical to the U.S. economy by increasing investment in small businesses, clean energy, and domestic manufacturing."
The vice president has pointed out during her campaign that she cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, ushering in historic investments in clean energy and jobs.
Earlier this year, before Biden stepped aside in the presidential race, Harris announced a proposal to ensure state and local governments take action to reduce medical debt.
"From broadening access to affordable housing, to mitigating the financial burdens of medical debt, to rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure and expanding access to high-speed internet in rural communities—her leadership has made the economy stronger
and fairer for all Americans," wrote the economists, who also included center-left policymakers who served in the Obama and Clinton administrations.
The experts expressed confidence that as president, Harris would "work relentlessly to build a strong, pro-growth economy for all Americans."
The document was released the day before Harris is expected to give her latest speech focused on her proposals for an "opportunity economy." Since announcing her candidacy in July, Harris has unveiled proposals for a federal ban on price-gouging in the grocery and food industries, an expansion of Medicare's cap on prescription drug costs, and a restoration of the expanded child tax credit that was opposed by all Republicans in Congress, among other economic policies.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is scheduled on Tuesday to talk about his tax plan, one of the economic policies that the experts said would "risk reigniting inflation and threaten the United States' global standing and domestic economic stability."
As Common Dreams has reported, Trump's plan to reduce the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15%—a further reduction from the one he pushed through as president in 2017—would benefit large companies and rich CEOs with a collective $48 billion in tax cuts, exceeding federal K-12 education funding.
Trump and other Republicans claimed in 2017 that their tax plan would create new opportunities for corporations to hire more workers and hand out raises, but analyses have shown that the policy disproportionately benefited the rich.
"The choice in this election is clear: between failed trickle-down economic policies that benefit the few and economic policies that provide opportunity for all," reads the statement. "It is a choice between inequity, economic injustice, and uncertainty with Donald Trump or prosperity, opportunity, and stability with Kamala Harris, a choice between the past and the future."
In a separate statement on Tuesday, dozens of anti-poverty and food justice groups were among those that endorsed Harris' price-gouging plan.
With food prices skyrocketing by 26% in some cases over the last five years, Harris has pledged to introduce rules in her first 100 days in office imposing "harsh penalties" on companies guilty of "greedflation"—keeping prices high in order to pad their profits.
"Your plan would tackle a problem that affects not just grocery shoppers, but almost everyone involved in the food system," said the groups, including the American Economic Liberties Project, Farm Action, and the Rural Coalition. "Addressing price gouging and corporate consolidation would not only help working Americans fight the inflation hitting their pocketbooks, but lay the foundation of a prosperous, sustainable, and more resilient food system for tomorrow."
