On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris will outline her economic policy for Black America. In just four years, the Biden-Harris administration has had an array of successes when it comes to fighting the racial wealth gap.
Black wealth is up by 60% since before the pandemic, over 167 billion dollars in student loan debt has been forgiven and Black unemployment has managed to hit a historic low.
As President, Harris plans to continue advocating for Black Americans. Here are five things she will discuss in her upcoming address.
1. Vice President Harris will lower the cost of food and groceries at a time when Black families spend more on food than white families.
Black families spend almost one-and-a-half times more on food than their white counterparts. To combat this, Harris will advance the first-ever federal ban on price gouging on groceries. She will also secure new authority for the FTC and state attorneys general to investigate and impose strict consequences on companies who exploit consumers.
2. Harris plans to lower the cost of renting and owning a home, which is crucial to helping close the racial wealth gap.
In a statement to The Root, Terrance Woodbury of HIT Strategies Team (Harris-Walz Black Voter Polling Firm) said that “The Vice President’s Opportunity Economy agenda speaks directly to these economic priorities and will be especially important for earning the votes of undecided Black voters.”
This includes lowering the rent by challenging corporate and major landords, stopping Wall Street Investors from acquiring and marking up homes in bulk. Harris also plans to provide historic $25,000 down-payment support for first-time homeowners and first-ever tax incentive for building starter homes.
3. She hopes to put money back into the pockets of Black families.
Vice President Harris plans on providing a new $6,000 child tax credit for families with children within their first year of life. She also hopes to cut taxes for frontline workers, expand the earned income tax credit and help Americans afford Health Insurance on the Affordable Care Act Marketplace—something Trump wanted to repeal.
4. Vice President Harris will lower the cost of prescription drugs and relieve medical debt, which disproportionately impact Black folks.
The Biden-Harris administration has managed to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for seniors, but as president Harris would want this to apply to everyone. Prescription drugs would also be capped at $2,000 regardless of a person’s age. She also wants to cancel medical debt for millions of Americans at a time when more than 1 in 4 Black households report having it—which is almost double the rate of medical debt for all adults.
5. She will increase support for Black owned businesses.
Under the Biden administration, Black small businesses started up at the fastest rate in 30 years. Harris whopes to build on this momentum by expanding the tax deduction for startups and small businesses from $5,000 to $50,000. She also wants to work with big banks to increase access to capital for Black small businesses and startups as well as set a target of one-third of all federal contract dollars going to small businesses.