Where Kamala Harris Stands on Major Financial Issues
On August 11th, former Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden chose Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. Should Biden win the White House, Harris will serve as the Vice President and should have an impact on the administration’s policies. We broke down how Biden’s tax plan could impact Americans, but what might Harris promote in the White House?
The California senator and former state attorney general have advocated passionately for a number of financial causes and bills. Here’s where Harris stands on the issues, and what ideas she might bring to the Oval Office. Many of these policies were central to Harris’ own presidential bid, but it’s unclear how her positions may change as veep.
Taxes
- Like Biden, Harris supports raising the income tax on the top 1 percent of earners from 37 to 39.6 percent and taxing capital gains like standard income. Harris and Biden also agree about offering more tax credits to individuals and upping taxes on corporations
- Harris wants to expand the estate tax and use the revenue to increase teacher salaries
- The LIFT Act – a $3,000 refundable tax credit for low and medium-income families to boost their after-tax income
- To cover the cost of Medicare for All, Harris would institute a 0.2% tax on stock trades, a 0.1% tax on bond trades, and a 0.002% tax on derivative transactions
Student Loans/Education
- Harris has proposed student loan forgiveness for Pell Grant recipients who own and operate businesses in marginalized areas
- Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Harris has emerged as a supporter of general loan forgiveness, proposing a plan that would cancel $10,000 for student borrowers
- A graduate of Howard University herself, Harris has been vocal about increasing funding for historically black colleges and universities
- As the Attorney General of California, Harris took on for-profit universities and has called for free tuition at four-year public colleges
Credit Scores and Consumer Protection
- In 2019 Harris advocated for an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act that would force credit bureaus to include rent payments and other bills like cellphones, gas, and water
- Harris fought for consumer rights as the California AG, most notably securing an $18 million settlement from mortgage companies in 2012 to assist homeowners following the mortgage crisis. Later, she was an advocate of the California Homeowners Bill of Rights, which expanded consumer protections against future crises
Affordable Housing
- Harris has been a staunch anti-homelessness activist and co-sponsored the Ending Homelessness Act that would allocate more than $13 billion to housing initiatives
- Along with Rep. Maxine Waters, Harris proposed a bill in 2019 that would commit $100 billion to affordable housing projects
- Although neither bill has been passed into law, affordable housing and homelessness have been high-priority issues for Harris throughout her career
The Bottom Line
Joe Biden has maintained a sizable lead in polls over President Trump and is currently the favorite to win the election. It’s impossible to say exactly how much influence Vice President Kamala Harris would have on fiscal and monetary policy, but it’s safe to assume she’ll have some sway. With that in mind, it’s always a good idea to keep tabs on what she says and does about taxpayer money.
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