WaPo article
Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign posted a list of her policy positions on her website Sunday, as the latest polls show her locked in a tight race with former president Donald Trump.
Titled “A New Way Forward,” the page outlines her agenda on the economy as well as immigration and foreign policy. On each issue, the campaign contrasts her positions with the agenda of Project 2025, the far-right policy proposal that Democrats have warned could form the blueprint for a second Trump presidency, even as the Republican nominee has distanced himself from it. Harris and Trump will face off in their first debate Tuesday.
The page says Harris’s economic policies are aimed at “lowering the costs of everyday needs” for working- and middle-class families. They include the expansion of two tax credits, which the campaign said would benefit 100 million families: the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, for which Harris aims to include a $6,000 cut for families with newborns.
Harris, who has sought to build on President Joe Biden’s economic agenda, says she will extend to all Americans the cap on prices of lifesaving prescription drugs brought in by their administration — including capping the out-of-pocket cost of insulin at $35 per month and limiting annual out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs to $2,000. Those two provisions are currently in effect for Medicare beneficiaries, but extending them to all Americans could face resistance from the pharmaceutical industry and Republicans, The Washington Post has reported.
Another campaign promise for the middle class is the provision of a $25,000 credit for first-time home buyers. She has also promised the “first-ever federal ban on corporate price gouging on food and groceries.”
Harris’s economic agenda also includes the expansion of the existing $5,000 tax deduction for start-up firms to $50,000. This, The Post has reported, is an attempt to draw a contrast with Trump, who has called for reducing the tax rate paid by corporations and maintaining lower tax rates for high-income people, along with policies aimed at helping people in other tax brackets.
On health care, the Harris campaign does not mention support for Medicare-for-all. She has said she no longer supports it, reflecting a shift away from some of the progressive stances that marked her 2019 presidential campaign.
The campaign also promised to revive a bipartisan border security bill and make it law to tackle the thorny issue of immigration. Trump — whose criticism and mischaracterization of the bill helped torpedo it — has repeatedly attacked Harris on border security and disparaged her as a failed “border czar.” Although she wasn’t placed in charge of the border as vice president, she was assigned to address the root causes of migration, such as poverty and violence, in Central America.
On her foreign policy outlook, the Harris campaign said she will “stand with” the United States’ allies and “stand up to dictators” while ensuring that “America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century.” On Israel’s war in Gaza, an emotional and divisive issue for many Democratic voters, the campaign repeated her pledge to stand up for Israel’s right and ability to defend itself as well as making sure Palestinians have a right to self-determination and security.
The Trump campaign attacked Harris in August for not having a policy page on its campaign site. On his own campaign site, Trump has a brief list of 20 policy items, including “seal the border” and “end inflation.”
I’m on SSI. The “SSI Restoration Act” was one of the first things jettisoned from “Build Back Better,” and although the bill is reintroduced with every Congressional session, it never goes anywhere. I haven’t seen Harris say anything about it at all. Eight million people are on SSI and are not allowed to save money or own assets. If we earn more than $20 a month, half of our earnings go toward reducing our astoundingly meager benefits.
What the fuck? That sounds like it’s basically house arrest, what are you supposed to do?
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that if a friend buys you dinner you are legally obligated to report it so that your benefits can be reduced. And you’re not allowed to take volunteer positions because that would indicate that you’re able to work.
We’re not supposed to do anything. We’re supposed to be miserable all the time and think about how even though we’re disabled, we really ought to be working. I’m lucky enough that I enjoy reading and other free things, and I have friends who can help me with major purchases like shoes or oil changes. Those who were under 26 when they became permanently disabled can have a particular kind of savings account, but are only allowed to spend the money on “qualified disability expenses,” and their friendly local Social Security caseworker will not have heard of this account and will not assist them in establishing it.
Punitive, protestant work ethic bullshit. I’m sure they try to make you feel like they’re being so helpful and generous too.
I’m sorry
My state has a little bit better SSI things going on than elsewhere in the country, but it’s also protestant work ethic bullshit. I can’t even own a car (despite being disabled and not able to walk to the bus stop) without it counting as an asset I’d have to sell to put myself below the maximum.
Some incomes are federally exempt from counting towards monthly income and total assets. Most of these are things like Native American tribal benefits and student programs. However, these exemptions are still done to the benefit of the wealthy. If you and your spouse own a business, the business itself along with the land it’s on is not counted as part of your assets so long as your combined monthly income is under $3,000. Art and jewelry are also exempted as long as you’re “using them.” So if you have several million dollars worth of Picasso paintings hanging in your dining room and not in storage, you don’t have to sell those.
And of course you’re allowed to use your SSI to gamble, so long as you report your winnings. You’ll have to pay back some of the money if you win more than $2,000 obviously, but they gotta be sure to keep people dreaming of something better while doing nothing to improve your situation.
Huh, I’m allowed to own a car. My FAQ says one vehicle doesn’t count toward the asset limit. I didn’t realize that was state-specific, too.
I don’t know how it will be possible to replace it once it dies, though.
My household already has 1 vehicle so I’m not allowed to have my own. Carpooling is fine, it’s the lack of public transit. When someone takes the car to work, I have no way of getting anywhere around except if I get a taxi.
Oh, right, the “household” rules. So much of this stuff is just intentionally spiteful. SSI is the institutional version of that Fox News infographic shaming poor folk for owning refrigerators.