Kamala Harris Talks Economy in New TV Interview

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Newsweek

Published Sep 13, 2024 at 6:11 PM EDT | Updated Sep 13, 2024 at 6:38 PM EDT


Vice President Kamala Harris gave specifics on her "opportunity economy" plans in an exclusive interview Friday night with ABC News Philadelphia affiliate, suggesting that she offers a "new generation of leadership" that is focusing on "investing in areas that need a lot of work."

On Friday, the Democratic nominee sat down with Brian Taff from the ABC news affiliate in Philadelphia—a state that Harris has been targeting heavily ahead of the November election. "When I talk about building an opportunity economy it is very much in mind with investing in the ambitions and aspirations of the incredible American people and creating opportunity for people, for example, starting a small business," Harris said.

Harris talked about providing $50,000 tax deduction to new startup small businesses because "nobody can start a small business with $5,000." She will also work on the "housing supply shortage" by providing first-time homebuyers a $25,000 downpayment assistance to ensure the American dream is no longer "elusive" for young citizens. Harris said she plans to expand the child tax credit to $6,000 for young families for the first year of their child's life.

"I was raised to believe and to know that all people deserve dignity," Harris said. "We as Americans have a beautiful character. We have ambitions and aspirations and dreams but not everyone necessarily has the resources that allows them to fuel those dreams and ambitions."

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-abc-interview-1953745

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[underpants]

1. Direct local one on one. This campaign is doing very well

I’m in awe how many angles whomever is planning this are covering.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. "Channel 6 Action News"

They have been #1 for local news here in Philly for decades. They had the same anchors for years and years (when other stations had a revolving door).

This guy is "new" though (apparently came in 2022 after Jim Gardner retired) so since I haven't watched local new much anymore (prefer to read it), I have no idea who he is.

I think from one of his early broadcasts -

[Mark.b2]

2. My X feed is filled from clips from this interview...

Last edited Fri Sep 13, 2024, 08:22 PM - Edit history (1)

She needs to keep doing these. Much better than sharing the stage and time with an adulterer.

Even with Trump’s history of infedility, I’ve gotten pissed again over news of likely infedilty again! If a person is willing to destroy a marriage (theirs and/or someone else’s) with an affair, they cannot be trusted to lead. I scraped TWO Gary Hart bumper stickers off my car back in the day. (My dad cheated on my mom when I was in jr high. It may have made an impression on me! lol)

I’ve liked all the clips on X. Trying to trend her. Great free pub!

[everyonematters]

4. This is what she needs to do. Get the specifics out.

[RussBLib]

24. Everywhere she has a rally

....she should do an interview with local media, TV, print, and podcast. I think you can reach more of the "other side" or undecideds this way than holding a rally where your own voters show up.

[slightlv]

5. I love she did the interview in tennis shoes!!! n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

6. I think because she had been wearing them at her rallies.

She had them on at the NC ones yesterday...

[BlueInPhilly]

7. She needs to answer 2 questions

Instead of talking generalizations. She did not answer these in the debate, and she’s still not answering them now.

1. Inflation and high prices - housing and small business have nothing to do with this very real concern. One of the negative ads in the Philly market is of her talking about the higher costs of groceries, followed by DJT’s approval. Just answer the question.

2. Immigration - why did the Biden admin wait until 2024 to try to pass a border bill? Were there earlier attempts that did not go through because of Congress?

An “opportunity economy” sounds really smart, but a person paying $5 for a quart of milk will not care about lofty macroeconomic ideas.

She needs to answer the questions or she will lose in PA.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. In rebuttsl

She needs to answer 2 questions

Instead of talking generalizations. She did not answer these in the debate, and she’s still not answering them now.

1. Inflation and high prices - housing and small business have nothing to do with this very real concern. One of the negative ads in the Philly market is of her talking about the higher costs of groceries, followed by DJT’s approval. Just answer the question.

Since I have been posting the releases monthly for the past couple years, "inflation", as of this past week, is at 2.5%.

Now you can accept the data points from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or you can go with "the RW-media generated narrative" that is designed to misinform, mischaracterize, and negatively exaggerate actual reality.

She has been running a BILLION ads, and I have been seeing AND hearing them on the radio, back to back in many cases, talking about "greedflation", and that is HERE IN PHILLY. It includes this one -

Civics 101 fact - in order to carry out a number of Executive Branch "plans", it will require LEGISLATION from the Legistrative Branch, a/k/a "Congress". The Senate has been on this issue regarding "corporate profits" and "greedflation' for some time.

2. Immigration - why did the Biden admin wait until 2024 to try to pass a border bill? Were there earlier attempts that did not go through because of Congress?

I think you missed the last 3 years that included the Title 42 fiasco that did in fact, impact immigration. Here, I'll let you catch up -

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142920047
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142995226
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143008744
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217911633

Remember, we were in the middle of a pandemic, apparently forgotten, and a massive economic collapse caused by 45's misdeeds (and I won't even go into January 6 and the mess that ensued after that).

Democrats only controlled both chambers of Congress during 2021 and 2022, and in 2021, the VP start racking up what would eventually amount to a record amount of tie-breaking votes in the Senate (as VP/President of the Senate) because the Senate was a 50-50 split. After that, the GOP took control of the House in early 2023 and that was the signal of "the end" of meaningful bipartisan legislation (which is why all the focus initially on getting the huge economic and infrastructure bills passed).

HOWEVER, during this time, the Administration, spear-headed by VP Harris' foundational work to assess the issues with multiple countries in South and Central America, began the implementation (by the State Dept and DHS) of"processing centers" for immigrant seeking to apply for entry as a pragmatic example.

So instead of the stunt photo-ops and sloganeering that the GOP does annually regarding "the border", something that seems some on DU accept as "legit", actual functional process changes, with infrastructure, has been, and continues to be, done, within the confines of Executive actions, including executing "agreements" like the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection (LAD).

I.e., you can continue to do draconian "bandaids" or you can start to address "root causes".

But this tends to get a yawn on DU when posted about.

An “opportunity economy” sounds really smart, but a person paying $5 for a quart of milk will not care about lofty macroeconomic ideas.

Need some links from you about where someone is paying "$5 for a quart of milk, and yes, I LIVE in Philly.

One of the things that you seemed to have ignored is the push from her and even Casey about "price gouging". But that doesn't fit your "narrative".

As Chair of one of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Children and Families Subcommittee, Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. had a whole hearing on this back in July -

Similarly, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Chaired by Sen. Sherrod Brown, held such a hearing back in May on the same subject -

"Hearings" are done as informational tools so that Congress can write legislation. A President often works with members of "the other branch" to implement initiatives through legislation.

I know you won't watch either though.

She needs to answer the questions or she will lose in PA.

No, she needs to continue doing what she is doing, covering ALL subjects including reproductive freedom, and YOU need to ask what the fuck is 45 and the rest of the GOP doing "for inflation" and "immigration".

We have heard *crickets* on the former and - "deport those dog and cat-eating criminals" for the latter.

[progree]

9. Whew. For a moment I thought things were REALLY bad in Philly. I paid 75 cents a quart for milk on Sept 3

-- actually $2.99/gallon which comes to 75 cents a quart, but then maybe I was benefitting from a high-volume bulk purchase (LOL) that only fancy-pants elitists can afford.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. At my nearby supermarkets

the gallons are running anywhere between $4 - under $5.

I don't buy milk in that amount (just one person here), but when I do buy it - basically for cooking, I try to find small bottles/cartons of the "shelf-stable" kind, which cost more, but then I can have it around for an extended period of time without need to refrigerate until after it's opened (the milk is "ultra-pasteurized" ).

[progree]

11. Milk

I'm paying $3 / gallon for the house brand, and its 1%. I think the brand-name milks are more like $4/gallon.

I buy a gallon at a time because its much cheaper than say 2 half gallons (I'd rather buy a half gallon at a time, but for a dollar more I get a whole gallon). Even though a gallon is a lot of weight that I have to haul 2/3 of a mile on foot (I take the bus most of the way home because I'm loaded down with about $100 in groceries; I walk 2.6 miles to the store - all of this for exercise).

I put the milk in 24 oz or quart jars and put them in the freezer. I unfreeze one jar at a time. I notice no difference in taste or texture in thawed frozen milk to the way it was in the store. Most of the milk I use is for cereal or for oatmeal, so it lasts a long time -- it's OK in my refrigerator for 7-8 days before its oft-tasting. A frozen gallon lasts me about a month.

I'll have to look at shelf-stable milk - would be nice to have around for when I (rarely) forget to thaw enough milk in time.

At first when I saw the post about $5/QUART in Philly, I put two-and-two together with what I've been reading is that both pres. candidates are spending a big proportion of their time in Pennsylvania. I thought, wow, no wonder, it sounds really bad there. But if everyone there is laying around emaciated and barely alive, given the unaffordably high food prices, then who there has the energy to vote? Just the top one or two percent?

[BlueInPhilly]

13. My GF just told me I'm wrong

It's $4.69 for a half gallon (in a jar) at Wholefoods. Yeah, I hate grocery shopping. Shame on me!

But my points stand. Please answer these 2 questions like we're 8 years old and have been living in a cave the last 4 years.

[tavernier]

18. Yeah well, an orange is fifty bucks at Whole Foods.

Ok, maybe not fifty, but damn, they really are proud of their stuff. They must have it shipped in from Abu Dhabi.

On edit, a gallon of milk is 3.79 at the WinnDixie, not too far from me. I live in the Keys.

[Deminpenn]

20. You do understand that in Pennsylvania, minimum milk prices are set by the Milk

Marketing Board, don't you?

I live near the Ohio border and milk is half the price there than it is in Pennsylvania.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. The problem is

the short shelf life on milk and there is no way that I am drinking that much milk. I do also have powdered milk for emergencies.

I look for stuff like this on sale -



I had some raisin bran with it this morning (the little cartons are 8oz so during a week when I have cereal, I can use about 4 oz in each serving that week. I actually don't put it in my oatmeal though (I do make the oatmeal with fruit in my rice cooker that will do steel cut oats).

My small deep freezer is full. lol I do freeze small (plastic) bottles of orange juice in it though that I eventually use for recipes.

[progree]

16. Thanks for the milk suggestion - noted, I will look for

Last edited Sat Sep 14, 2024, 07:11 PM - Edit history (1)

Yes, a gallon (128 Fl oz) is definitely consumptive of freezer space. I don't have a separate freezer, just the upper 1/4 EDIT: 1/3 of my refrigerator is the freezer. But I don't freeze that much -- besides the milk, a lot of frozen veggies (I maintain a goal to eat the recommended 2.5 cups veggies per day, and the frozen veggies are a part of that), and some meat, and some thick bean soup that functions as a gravy on just about everything, a couple boxes of frozen waffles, typically 3 loaves of bread, 2 ice trays and some containers of ice cubes, and that's it.

Other than the 2 boxes of frozen waffles, I don't buy or have any pre-made ultra-processed food like frozen pizza or TV dinners or pot pies or anything else in a frozen box like that. So my freezer space is quite adequate.

My guess in my above post that a gallon lasts a month is probably about right -- that comes to 4.3 fluid oz a day on average. For the thawed 24 oz bottle (with about 20oz of milk in it), that's 5 days in the regular fridge, absolutely no problem during that time with spoilage.

On the top of each jar lid I have masking tape, and I write with a sharpie e.g. "11" if I thawed it on the 11th of the month.

Buying a half gallon at a time would halve all of the above numbers (using smaller jars, whatever).

Re: another post, anyone buying from a chain widely known as "Whole Paycheck" and paying what amounts to $2.34 a QUART really badly needs a consumer education class, or just to get out a bit and look around.

V.P. Kamala Harris needs to be asked (and answer) what can be done about people like that, because I sure the heck don't know. I wish I did but I don't. (partially sarc, partially serious)

[BumRushDaShow]

17. As a kid

I grew up with one of those big honkin' Kenmore chest deep freezers that my dad bought and used. He was in one of those "meat of the month" club things and a truck would come around once a month and drop off steaks and roasts and stuff. Plus he would throw some ice cream sandwiches in there.

My little one is in the basement and is a 3.5 cuft one (I think), and I intended to use it for stuff like frozen veggies or vacuum packs of chicken, maybe some ribs, etc., mainly as an "overflow" for my regular freezer (I have one of those vacuum food sealers - not the "Food Saver" but another brand).

But when the pandemic hit and I ended up going into a supermarket and found aisles with bare shelves and near-empty refrigerated/freezer bins where meat and seafood used to be, then it became my "COVID freezer".

I have a temp probe in it and the temp averages between -14F to -17F, which supposedly would mean the food is good "indefinitely" (although obviously over time it could deteriorate and I rotate stuff in and out). I keep a little computer text file with my "inventory" of what is in there with dates.

And as a note, "Whole Paycheck" is now owned by Amazon so, one can make of it what want might....

[BlueInPhilly]

12. Dude, I agree with everything!

But the manicurist at the mall or the retired vet next street do not.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. Dudette

and I remember the days when bread was 4 (1lb) loaves for $1 on sale. That was like 50 years ago.

As I posted in that reply, the "issue" has been identified in multiple Congressional hearings. I.e, the corporate supermarket company PROFITS are up over 40% above "inflation", which means - "greedflation", since the supply chain issues from the heart of the pandemic, have been remedied, and there's nothing more acting as a catalyst than "what the market will bear".

One can chose to initiate "price controls" (which Jimmy Carter unsuccessfully attempted and was ridiculed for it) -

-OR- one can start to shame them and expose them, which is what our Democratic Committees are doing, to force them to lower the prices.

Here is what "reality" looks like in comparison (as "real inflation" ) -



The fast food chains that had the highest markups (and apparently had a high impact among the lower income shoppers who frequent them), have finally cracked. And I remember how my sister bought her house near the "bottom" (offered around here at the time for those with good credit) of mortgage rates of 5.25% in 2003 and over the subsequent years, was able to refinance to much lower when the fed funds rates hit near 0%.

We got spoiled with that "near 0%" because it went on for so long - and happened for those long periods twice - once after the 2007/2008 "Great Recession", and the 2nd during the peak of the pandemic.

But since the pandemic and the Biden policies, the wages have actually gone up (FINALLY) and in many cases, much above inflation.

[Deminpenn]

21. 13% was considered a good mortgage rate

back in the 1980s.

[BumRushDaShow]

22. And

I had an 8% rate on a car loan back in '88 and was glad it wasn't 10%!

[Deminpenn]

19. Housing costs are a root cause of people's feelings about inflation

It's basic ecomonics when there's more demand than supply, prices rise. If you are renting and trying to save for your first house, rents are also rising and most rental owners raise rents annually. Even with a job paying $15-20/hr, it might be very hard to save up for a downpayment. She has addressed that and proposed several complimentary solutions.

She has proposed cracking down on price gouging, the same idea that Bob Casey is running on. I suppose she could explain that from 2008-2020, there was very little inflation due to the Great Recession and interest rates were near 0. When the pandemic hit and the economy shut down, that lead to shortages and price increases. Again, basic supply and demand economics. I personally believe that when things mostly returned to normal, wholesalers and retailers continued to raise prices to make up for the decade plus when they couldn't raise prices. I haven't done the math, but if the US had had the Fed's target inflation of 2-3% a year from 2008-2020, that over a 20% rise in prices. What happened, imo, is all that pent up price pressure was released at once after the pandemic crisis ended.

[LymphocyteLover]

23. I agree it would be good if she had simple answers to those questions. Of course neither of those things are her fault

Inflation is 100% due to the pandemic, not the Biden admin

Immigration is due to many reasons and of course wasn't the top concern when the Biden-Harris admin got in