On Wednesday, September 25th, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris delivered a speech in Pittsburgh outlining her economic vision, with a focus on manufacturing and providing opportunities for the middle class, as well as offering tax incentives for industries of the future.
She presented a series of tax incentive plans aimed at stimulating key sectors crucial to the economy and national security. Harris pointed out that the new tax breaks for manufacturing and production investments would cover areas such as biomanufacturing, aerospace, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.
While she did not delve into the specifics of the tax breaks, she mentioned that it would involve an investment of $100 billion over a period of 10 years. She stated that if Congress implements a global minimum corporate tax agreement, it would use increased taxes on U.S. companies’ foreign income to fund these initiatives. These measures were proposed to counter the industrial subsidies of the Chinese Communist regime, revitalize American towns, restructure existing factories, and improve wages and partnership with unions.
During her speech at Carnegie Mellon University on Wednesday, Harris said, “The American people are faced with a choice between two fundamentally different economic paths.” She emphasized pragmatism and collaboration with the private sector to help elevate the status of middle-class families.
Harris criticized her opponent, former President Trump, for only being interested in aiding the wealthy and corporations, rather than the middle-class families. She stated, “For Donald Trump, if our economy is working for those building skyscrapers, not those who actually build them, not for those wiring the skyscrapers, not for those polishing the floors, then that’s the best our economy can do.”
On Tuesday, Republican candidate Trump outlined his economic policies in Savannah, Georgia, proposing massive tariffs on China and reducing corporate tax rates.
On Wednesday, during a speech in North Carolina, Trump questioned Harris’s promises. He said, “Kamala Harris is supposedly announcing her so-called plan to support manufacturing and create wealth, and my response is simple: Why hasn’t she done it before?”
Both presidential candidates have presented contrasting visions for the American economy to attract voters’ attention and seek support on economic issues.