Vice President Kamala Harris will unveil on Friday a first-of-its-kind economic policy that seeks to address corporate price gouging that is crippling the pockets of American households. The plan would particularly bring needed relief to Black households, which have been disproportionately hit by higher prices.
On Wednesday evening, the Harris for President campaign announced the new policy, which would establish a federal ban on corporate gouging in the food and grocery industries.
“Vice President Harris has repeatedly emphasized on the campaign trail that ‘prices are still too high,’ and, in particular, she knows rising food prices remain a top concern for American families,” said the campaign in the announcement.
The federal ban, which would need to be enacted through legislation passed in the United States Congress, particularly targets the meat processing industry.
The Harris campaign notes that the “highly consolidated” industry is controlled by only four big companies, which act as “middlemen” by buying animals from farmers and ranchers, later processing them, and selling meat to retailers such as grocery stores. The campaign said these companies not only jack up food prices but also make the industry less competitive for small businesses.
The multi-prong plan to bring down food and grocery costs also includes empowering the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to investigate and impose “harsh” penalties on big corporations that violate the new proposed policy. Additionally, Harris is calling for more federal support to help small businesses compete.
The Democratic presidential nominee’s new plan to tackle price gouging would especially benefit Black households, who data shows for years have faced higher and more volatile inflation compared to white households.
According to research from the University of California San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy, between 2004 and 2020, Black families experienced slightly higher inflation and 13% more volatile inflation. As a result, Black consumers are spending more on groceries and other household services.
“African-Americans are concerned with the price of things: bread, gas, everyday cost-of-living items,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson told theGrio. “It is woefully unfair in this society for companies to take advantage … where food, goods and other things are not scarce.”
He added, “If the financial markets are benefiting high-wealth individuals, the consumer market should also be positioned to support the everyday cost of living of citizens across this country.”
Harris’ policy announcement is less about inflation and more about corporate greed, said Johnson.
“This isn’t an inflation issue, it’s a greed issue,” he explained. “Her decision is to address the greed that has kind of propelled inflation and increased the cost of things that everyday citizens across communities are confronted with.”
Johnson continued, “Her solution is to address it by preventing these monopolies from artificially increasing the price.”
On Friday, while in Raleigh, N.C., Harris is also expected to announce additional policies to address the rising costs of housing and prescription drugs.
The vice president’s policy layout comes as the Biden-Harris administration recently touted the new consumer price index report showing the 12-month inflation rate dropped to 2.9%, its lowest level since March 2021.
In a statement on Wednesday, President Joe Biden acknowledged that prices are still too high but argued the latest inflation report showed that his administration’s policies are “making real progress,” noting that wages are rising faster than prices.
On Thursday, the White House also released the results of its first Medicare drug price negotiations since the Inflation Reduction Act, which allows the federal government to bargain directly with drug manufacturers to lower the cost of drugs. The administration said the new price setting has saved $6 billion across 10 drugs and that beneficiaries could save as much as $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs.
President Biden and Vice President Harris traveled to Prince George’s County, Maryland, on Thursday to hold a rally touting the latest achievement in lowering the cost of prescription drugs.
According to a recent poll conducted by The Economist/YouGov, the economy remains the No. 1 concern for voters heading into the Nov. 5 election. Another survey conducted by Black Futures Lab in 2022 similarly found that the economy was the top issue on the minds of Black voters.
Vice President Harris has made clear that the costs for American families will be her top issue as she continues to roll out her presidential campaign, which she launched on July 21.
“She’s attuned to the needs and interests of citizens and concerns they have around the price of things,” said Johnson.
The NAACP president said Harris’ policy announcements provide a “sharp contrast” between her and her opponent Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.
“We cannot complain about the cost of bacon and goods, and yet you have not advanced an approach or a policy priority to address [it],” he told theGrio.
“It’ll be interesting to see what is the solution from the other side, and is there a true path that has the interest of citizens and consumers in mind, or is it simply talking points about a problem with no solution that address the problem?”
