CNN political commentator Van Jones praised Vice President Harris’ recently announced economic plan, saying he was pleased to see Democrats “boldly” discussing price gouging.
“Thank goodness we’re finally hearing positive things from Democrats about price gouging,” Jones said. said On Friday evening, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer said, “Democrats have no problem hauling in tech CEOs and grilling them, but most Americans don’t have a problem with tech CEOs. They have a problem with big grocers scamming people.”
Harris unveiled her economic platform at a rally in North Carolina on Friday, and the centerpiece of her economic platform is the creation of a federal anti-cheap trade ban, but the plan offers few details about how the ban would be implemented.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food prices Increased They are expected to rise 25% between 2019 and 2023, one of the largest increases in decades. The price increases are part of a larger rise in inflation linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain disruptions.
Biden, Harris and other Democrats have accused major grocery chains and other large corporations of keeping prices unnecessarily high even after the coronavirus pandemic is declared over. Biden in March formed a Federal Trade Commission task force to investigate price gouging.
“The supply chain issues were fixed a long time ago, and they’re just ripping people off,” Jones said in an interview Friday. “The Biden administration has put together a Federal Trade Commission and a Justice Department task force to investigate, but Biden has never been shy about talking about the fact that he’s going after this price gouging.”
Jones added that Harris was “comfortable” speaking about affordability because of her “strength” and “politics of joy”.
“She knows the American people are being lied to and she wants to do something about it,” he said.
The proposal is part of a larger effort to lower grocery costs as Americans continue to face inflation that peaked at 9% in June 2022. Inflation fell below 3% in August for the first time since March 2021.
Harris’ plan, which analysts say could cost up to $1.7 trillion, also calls for the FTC and state attorneys general to “investigate companies that violate the rules and impose tough new penalties.”
Inflation and high food prices remain top concerns for most voters, and President Biden struggled to defend his economic record and policies using high prices as a motive before dropping out of the presidential race.
Former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have called Harris’ plan “socialist” and accused it of seeking to replicate policies adopted in Venezuela and Cuba.
The vice president hit back at his critics in a speech in North Carolina on Friday.
“Prices are still too high,” Harris said. “While many grocery chains are passing these savings on to customers, some are not. We know that most businesses are creating jobs, contributing to the economy and following the rules, but some are not. This is wrong and we need to take action.”
She has also criticized President Trump’s economic plan, which focuses on imposing a 60% tariff on Chinese goods, a 100% tariff on foreign cars and a 10% tariff on all foreign goods, saying it will lead to higher prices.
“It would be a devastating blow to the American people. It would mean higher prices for just about every everyday essential,” she said at a rally in Raleigh, N.C. “A Trump tax on gas, a Trump tax on food, a Trump tax on clothing, a Trump tax on over-the-counter drugs.”
