Has Kamala Learned Nothing about Inflation?
Kamala Harris’s economic plan has faced widespread criticism, with many deeming it impractical and misguided. We will boil it down into two primary points.
First, she plans to spend money in large, large chunks. On her watch, the Biden Administration did this before with the “Inflation Reduction Act” which expanded our money supply resulting in massive inflation over several years. She speaks boldly about higher prices and inflation – as if she had nothing to do with it.
Does Kamala Harris not have ANY economist who can explain how inflation is generated from over spending? She has been there for three and a half years, was supposedly the “last person in the room” (likely utter BS), and she can’t see cause and effect of the Biden policies?
Second, these socialist in nature. Price controls are a socialist nightmare and ALWAYS result in inflation (1. price control – 2. shortages – 3. black market – 4. collapse of legit market). The other points involve more control and influence by the government. I.e. socialist. But like every socialist who is told that socialism has failed EACH and EVERY time, Kamala is boldly declaring that her plan is different (like every other socialist has done – just before they fail miserably).
Bonus Stupidity: She will be paying for this by increasing corporate taxes from 21% (Trump’s level) to 28%. OMG! As our friend Larry Horist will tell you, corporations do not pay taxes. They simply adjust their prices to provide a profit level and pass on the extra costs directly to the consumer. THIS IS DIRECTLY INFLATIONARY. Not to mention that the decreased competitiveness will cost jobs in the U.S. in favor of foreign imports that do not have such a heavy burden.
Note that Kamala Harris has no history of running any kind of organization, she was not a governor, she has never run a company, she only played second fiddle to Biden as Vice president, no direct responsibility nor accountability. Our prediction is that if she wins, her plans will not have support. If she passes any part of her plan, they will be poorly targeted and will have unintended consequences that will hurt the country more than they help.
The following is a partial summary, with our commentary in parentheses:
- Price Controls: Introduce federal price controls, particularly on food items, to combat what is perceived as corporate price gouging (yes, the socialist nightmare, shortages, inflation, with every consequence except the actual limit of prices).
- Minimum Wage Increase: Propose raising the federal minimum wage to improve income for low-wage workers (inflationary, will increase unemployment, slow productivity, and help no one).
- Child Tax Credit Expansion: Expand the Child Tax Credit to provide a $6,000 tax cut for families with newborns and restore the expanded child tax credit up to $3,600 per child (if we had a working economy with low inflation, we would not need this…).
- Earned Income Tax Credit Expansion: Extend the Earned Income Tax Credit to cover lower-income workers without children (let’s discourage competition, increase the de facto welfare)
- First-Time Homebuyer Assistance: Provide $25,000 in down-payment assistance and offer tax incentives for first-time homebuyers. (Spend, cause inflation. This will cause all housing prices to immediately jump by $25000 – that is the net effect).
- No Tax on Tips: Propose eliminating taxes on tips, a measure aimed at supporting workers in the service industry. (Stolen from Trump)
- Federal Ban on Price Gouging: Implement the first-ever federal ban on price gouging, particularly for essential items like food. (This is a red herring, price gouging is such a small part of the problem that it is not noticeable. Inflation is real and is the primary problem.)
- Support for an ‘Opportunity Economy’: Create an economy where everyone has the chance to succeed, with a focus on fairness and equal opportunity. (Everybody’s doing this, Trump did it better than Biden.)
- Strengthening Worker Protections: Enhance protections for workers, particularly those in lower-wage jobs, to ensure fair treatment and compensation. (Worthless platitude, leads to socialist support systems.)
- Incentivizing Family Growth: Encourage larger families through expanded child tax credits and financial support, aligning with populist policies that aim to support family growth. (Spend money, spend money, she will find a way for this to fail while increasing inflation and hurting the families she wants to help.)
These all sound nice if you don’t realize how tragically misguided they are, the best case scenario is if she is not able to do any of it (or rather that Trump is elected).
A final note, let’s not forget, she is still in office. If she thinks these ideas are so great, why doesn’t she go back to her office and implement them? In fact, why are they not already implemented? (hint: even if she could convince people, this stupid wench doesn’t know how.)
In the US, price controls are a Republican invention at the State level in the 1860’s when a number of them did it.
Nationally, it’s an invention of the Republican party with the Hepburn Act: 1906 Republican House, Republican Senate, TR is President.
However, in times of War, controls are often enacted and Democrats are usually in power.
Wilson: WWI
FDR: WWII
Truman: Korean WAR
1971: Nixon did it. He is a Republican. And PERHAPS the Vietnam war caused the need.
I don’t think Nixon, the 1860’s or the 1906 Republicans are socialists. You can have price controls without socialism as Wilson, FDR, Truman, and Nixon proved.
Also, most public utilities have price controls or approval boards. Many jurisdictions have rent controls in place. And in health care, Medicare basically fixes the prices for goods and services.
Price controls are generally not good IMO, but they have their place for emergencies like war. Should be short-lived. But Medicare is a patch for a broken market called healthcare. If any other market had the healthcare pricing model, we would close it down. IF there was any market that could have price controls it’s healthcare because it’s so fucking broken with no signs of getting better. It’s so fucked up that ObamaCare makes sense. It’s so fucked up that Bernie is probably right —– given how fucked the market is. And utilities are monopolies so we socialize them in pricing. But not totally, they can argue their case for change. I can’t speak to rent controls, only rented for a few years after college. And since I built my own units, got low-income rates from the state for being a good company and turning it over later, and could increase the value when building through free options, —- moved once a year to a brand new place, so not a good example.
Harris’ plan is not a plan but a number of programs. For the most part, they all are spending and I have not a clue as to the expected returns. I am totally against no-tax tips and feel both Trump and Harris just want the waiter’s voting block and are buying it. But I fear the unanticipated outcome of creating a tip-based economy is real. What a way to lower inflation by dropping price and raising tips. What’s next: helping pay college loans by skipping income taxes for those who owe? Tax free work sounds really dumb.
Spending does not create inflation directly History has shown that. Too much spending: i.e. —- debt —- can fuel it but it’s not a give. As is there being a direct line from higher business taxes to higher prices…. Not so. I priced the entire AT&T small business line, had million dollar consultant support, spent another million in conjoint analysis because of the competitor/rental variables, and I don’t remember any tax change estimates in the fray and —– we were pricing against competitors and our own rental base so I am pretty sure no one has had a more complex pricing issue and spent more money to figure it out than AT&T. (fyi: the final price points were within 5-10% of my first dart toss but every point could mean hundreds of millions). I managed product lines, some bringing in $100M or more a year. Never once over two decades did I raise or lower prices due to tax changes. No management edict of this kind ever.
HOWEVER, to prove this point, Joe can just look at all the government spending in all the past years without high inflation to prove to himself his conclusion may be misplaced. Probably can follow business tax rates and prices, as measured by inflation too, however hard to find examples since 1950. However, inflation not terrible in the 50’s. Let me ask this: the largest tax decrease took place in 2018. Did you notice all those price decreases? It’s still down, have prices stayed down?
Like I said, there is no direct line from wages, taxes, and price. Linked yes. Put’s pressure on or off, yes. But no direct line. We often overspend without a hint of inflation, raise wages without inflation and raise taxes without inflation. And the converse is true too.
All of this is so much more complex than a few programs.
Without seeing the entire Harris budget, there is no way anyone can say it’s inflationary.
You can say it’s inefficient and/or ineffective spending. Trump gave money away at a greater pace of any President and had no inflation although many experts conclude he just paid it forward to Biden who caught the inflation bullet. Also
That aside: I do not favor any proposal for the economy that Harris has provided. Trump’s are far worse, but that will never make the Harris proposals sound. Just a better vote. IMO.
Price controls are a socialist, authoritarian measure characterized over and over by abject failure.
When you expand the monetary supply in the form of debt, it doesn’t matter where it is spent, it is inflationary.
If the money supply is expanded in relation to the growth in GDP, then it is not inflationary is it simply reflecting value gained by productivity. If the money supply is not expanded and GDP grows, it is deflationary (which is bad as well).
And you will never see a Harris budget, it would prove her incompetent (and she wouldn’t know how anyway).
Price Controls have a limited place in an economist’s tool belt. Mostly for times of war and other extreme emergencies and should only be use for short periods as they distort the market.
The rest is somewhat simplistic thought to explain the most complex system on the planet — the economy. Generally, the answer: it depends can be applied.
For example, if expanding the money supply results in inflation, then why no inflation for decades? We certainly expanded the money supply.
How would one know how much to expand the money supply for GDP growth and would the converse be true as in during a recession, the GDP shrinks so should we contract the money supply? That did not end well for your man Hoover.
The problem is you can’t measure what you think causes inflation. You say its the money supply but that expands and contracts all the time without corresponding inflation changes. No, there’s more to it that that and it’s more complex than you let on.
There is always a War when Democrat’s are in power.
This is how they can Spend Spend Spend and profit the ones who put them in office!
Fact Fact Fact!
Anyone this high up in office understands spending and inflation.
This is ALL DONE ON PURPOSE! EVERYTHING ON PURPOSE!
You have to yourself ( WHY WHY WHY )
That’s your answer!
And it has NOTHING to do with helping the American PEOPLE!
Or at least the Tax Paying ones!
The people at their conventions are just to Stupid to understand it.
Good time to sell ocean front property in the Mojave!
If you’re suggesting Democrats are chummier than Republicans with the military-industrial complex then would ask for proof than wwi and wwii were to profit Democrats?
I might question Korean but they did invade and I do like my LG refrigerator.
And while Dems own putting troops in vietnam, Eisenhower the Republican war hero put the first military advisors in establishing our physical presence there. And the Nixon closed it out by invading Cambodia before he cut n ran worse than Afghanistan.
No sure any of these gents, from either party got rich on war. And pretty sure that Darren can’t support his claim.
How about Democrats massively expanding entitlements over the years (which is thoroughly socialist), spending more money but guaranteeing a drop in productivity. At least defending the country is an actual purpose of government.
blocked again Joe, tried to respond to both your posts. We agreed on part. I was thoughtful Sorry.
Want a copy? What’s your home address. Yeah, that’s not happening. Sorry again.
Trump’s entitlements are called Corporate Tax Cuts.
Actually Joe, entitlements have risen under both parties in the past ten years with the sharpest increase under Trump starting in 2918 and concluding with a massive explosion under Trump’s mishandling of the covid response, his shining failure to defend the nation, just like he let the Capitol seige continue for over 3 hours and now want to hold fund raisers for felons from that terrible day in Trumpsylvania.
Biden/Harris have been bringing entitlements down since King Trump was booted from his throne.
Last chart — use per capita spending as your metric. Plenty of other red meat for you in the other charts.
Joe, nope, it won’t take the link no matter what disguise I throw at it. JFGI. From Federal Safety Net dot you know what…..
Who cares, Frankie. 1860 was under a different Constitution, Democrats were totally against and hated blacks. Dems are the party of the KKK. You proud of that? I think, Imo that you are. Do you really think that woman is Kamala? It is Kamal Aroush, born male, was a prostitute, too, and definitely was executed at Gitmo in 2017. Military receipts prove these facts no matter how you try to wipe them out. There is a person acting as Kamala. BTW, who even cares what you think or say anymore. You are hurting yourself. You try to be a dictator. You failed! I’m still watching you.
AF: no one should care except historically to say Republicans invented it. Just as slavery has absolutely nothing to do with inflation but is tossed in to deflect from the topic of inflation while casting dispersion on Democrats. I agree, slavery is the fault of Democrats, but not today’s party, and it has nothing to do with the topic at hand being a red herring tossed for distraction.
No, for Democrats and for our nation, I am not proud of slavery and a few other things.
Again with more tin foil hat experiences leading to Gitmo that you fabricated and cannot show a piece of evidence besides your raving. Let’s see the receipts you say prove the fact. Just post the link. URL. Internet thingee. You can do it. Come on. Do it.
And threatening that you are watching me is just getting silly. Are you being silly on purpose? Is this another joke like your nod to racism?
Wow!! Desert Storm Bush Sr. and Jr./ both Replican – 6 weeks
Wow! Iraq/Afghanistan Bush Jr./Republican – 20 years!!!
Darren, seems like the opposite of what you said is true.
Tom,
I was noting wars with price controls, restricted list to that.
Joe, Harris has more intelligence on Macro Economic and understands inflation inside and out. While Trump can’t remember where is at in the moment. He doesn’t remember what happened while he was president. Time passed and repeated blunders have during his term have become blurred with denial lies.
If has an economic policy it come pre- baked by somebody else and delivered on a silver plater. Still, he won’t read what he is given, because the basic concepts an economy is built on are beyond his conception. Never mind his understanding of inflation..
He listens to FOX got his daily briefing and parrot’s verbatim what they report. He says prices are going up hugely and embarks on a ridiculous long story about grocery shopping prices skyrocketing.
Tucker Carlson will take Trump’s story on prices going through the roof and Trump blaming Biden and the democrats, and say “what does that really mean” all the while looking into the camera with a stupid look on his face.
Don’t beat the drum of condemnation against Harris until you have more than here say as Fake News.
Support for an ‘Opportunity Economy’: Create an economy where everyone has the chance to succeed, with a focus on fairness and equal opportunity. (Everybody’s doing this, Trump did it better than Biden.)
Create an Illegal Alien ‘Opportunity Economy’ where they get free housing, education, healthcare and the Legal American Citizens get to pay the bill.
Kamala Harris and the Globalist Democrat Machine
An Existential Threat to our Inalienable Rights and National Sovereignty
https://brucecain.substack.com/p/kamala-harris-and-the-globalist-democrat