By Anna Helhoski, NerdWallet
Consider this your election cheat sheet to find out what Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are promising to do as they vie for the nation’s highest office. Here’s where the candidates stand on top economic and personal finance issues.
Inflation
Both presidential candidates want to lower prices and slow inflation, but whether a president can directly do so is less certain. Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, has already slowed to 2.4%, well off its pandemic-fueled peak.
Trump:
Place tariffs on imports. Trump wants to place a 10% to 20% tariff on all foreign imports; up to 60% tariff on imports from China; and 100% to 200% imports on automobiles produced in Mexico. He says his tariffs would support U.S. manufacturing and raise revenue. But experts from all over the political spectrum say that his tariff plan is more likely to increase prices in the U.S.
Lower gas prices. Trump has pledged to increase oil and gas production on federal lands. The president’s ability to lower gas prices is limited as the price at the pump is more directly influenced by global market forces.
Weaken the power of the Federal Reserve. Trump says he wants to bring the Federal Reserve under the power of the president; experts say it could weaken the central bank’s credibility in making interest rate decisions.
Cap credit card interest rates at around 10%. The average credit card interest rate is 21.51%, according to Federal Reserve data from May 2024. It would require Congress to enact and would likely face legal pushback.
Harris:
Ban price gouging. Harris wants to create rules that would prevent corporate grocers from raising prices arbitrarily. The ban would require approval by Congress. Critics say her plan is mainly an election promise rather than a sound economic policy.
Lower prescription drug costs. Harris plans to extend to all Americans a $35 cap on insulin and $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket expenses for seniors. She also wants to make it quicker and easier for Medicare and other federal programs to negotiate prescription drug prices. Experts say her plans could be effective in bringing down costs, but will face pushback from Big Pharma lobbyists.
Increase the minimum wage. Harris says she would push to raise the federal minimum wage to at least $15 per hour, up from the current minimum wage of $7.25. The federal minimum wage hasn’t been touched since 2009 and raising it would require approval in Congress.
Dive deeper: How Harris and Trump Want to Battle Inflation and Lower Prices
Taxes
The campaign proposals that would most directly impact consumers are tax cuts and credits.
Trump:
Extend tax cuts in his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that are expiring at the end of next year. The TCJA includes estate tax cuts and individual income tax cuts.
Replace personal income taxes with tariffs. His new plan would place a 10% across-the-board tariff on foreign imports with …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
