In a presidential race that has not been short on drama, Vice President and Democratic nominee for president Kamala Harris, has certainly injected infectious energy into the polls. Behind all of the rallies, the debate and conflicting opinions, exists a body of policies that gives us a closer look at the candidate’s intentions. It’s often hard to separate news cycle drama from what a candidate will achieve for the country if elected to one of the most powerful jobs in the entire world.
With her involvement in President Biden’s presidency, her policies are derived from ones that focus heavily on rebuilding infrastructure and bringing green energy to the forefront of America. These policies have certainly caused the American economy and job market to grow, but they have been plagued, on the other side, with inflation and high interest rates. Solution? Building support policies that create “an opportunity economy, where everyone has a chance to compete and a chance to succeed.” That said, it’s certainly no secret that creating an environment for such a culture to grow and thrive will mean a lot of cleanup for any significant change to take place.
Harris held a decently lenient position on the border. She intends to revive and sign the Bipartisan Border Security Bill into law, which “expands the Department of Homeland Security authority to address the processing of non-US nationals (aliens under federal law) and provides supplemental appropriations for related purposes.” She participated in fundraising that has helped raise upwards of three billion dollars for regional investments to encourage people to want to stay in their country of origin. Any politician would agree that an over-stressed support system is not the catalyst for change. Another important topic in this election is women’s rights. Kamala Harris has made it central to her campaign to support a woman’s right to an abortion, pledging “when Congress passes a law to restore reproductive freedoms, as President of the United States, I will sign it into law.” When the U.S Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Harris made it clear that she would never allow a national abortion ban to become a law.
On the international stage, Harris has, in her time as Vice President, met face to face with 150 world leaders and visited 21 countries. She intends to support Ukraine in the war against Russia for as long as is necessary, regardless of opinions of how this might affect America. In terms of competition and economic growth in relation to other countries in the world, she expects America, not China, to lead the world into the 21st century. While America’s relationship to other countries and the perception of it as a superpower are certainly important, Americans really want to know what’s going to happen to the economy and their own pocketbooks.
Harris wants to “pass a middle-class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans.” Presently, the corporate tax lives somewhere in the range of 21%. Harris supports a tax rate hike between 28% and 35%. This is a more aggressive tax hike than Joe Biden. That said, the issue of tax rates is obviously polarizing, depending on who benefits from what. The interest rates, which drive the housing market, remain high. Even so, a half point cut by the Federal Reserve certainly eases tensions and hopes to incentivize the housing market into high gear. Harris is a proponent of banning assault weapons in high capacity, magazines and demanding universal background chips for people purchasing weapons. She did share that both she and Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz are gun owners. There are certainly compelling reasons to vote for either side, but politics remains a very personal issue for most.
While Donald Trump has experience having already been president, do we want a repeat performance? Or do we want to try something new?
