I’m an Economist: 5 Things That Should Excite Middle-Class Earners About a Harris Presidency
Written by
Jake Safane
Edited by
Levi Leidy
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In a matter of days, the Democratic party went from significant disagreement and uncertainty about whether President Joe Biden should stay in the race, to now quickly coalescing around Vice President Kamala Harris, in ways that could excite many middle-class Americans struggling with the ever-rising cost of living.
While she hasn’t officially won the nomination yet, her candidacy has garnered widespread support, as evidenced by raising a record of over $100 million in less than two days from 1.1 million donors.
“Harris has activated a deeper base within the Democratic party than Biden did,” said Ayeh Bandeh-Ahmadi, an economist who’s worked for the U.S. Treasury Department and is now the founder and CEO at Volascope Labs. “Given this grassroots base, we can expect her to be even less distracted from policies for the middle class than a more typical Democratic candidate that relies more heavily on wealthier donors.”
In terms of policies that could help the middle class, Harris’ time in Congress could provide clues.
As a senator, she introduced bills “like the 2018 LIFT the Middle Class Act, which sought to create livable incomes for families through tax credits that aimed to boost incomes of working families by up to $3,000 a year for single filers and $6,000 a year for married couples, distributed as monthly payments to help families manage their finances,” explained Bandeh-Ahmadi.
However, the U.S. looks to be headed toward a divided government. Regardless of who wins the presidency, the odds aren’t in favor of the same party also winning the House and Senate.
“So in the event she is elected, Harris will have to lead by choosing policies that stand a good chance with a Congress that’s facing continued gridlock,” Bandeh-Ahmadi said. “We can expect policies in a Harris administration to align with her longtime focus on addressing inequalities due to racial and income disparities based on which have some sort of bipartisan support among the public.”
What might those policies look like? Some of the more prominent ones that could excite middle-class earners fall into the following five categories.
Education and Workforce Development
Harris has shown support for education and workforce development programs that could help middle-class earners increase their incomes while saving on education costs.
For example, “she supported universal pre-K programs, which have been shown to increase workforce participation among parents and contribute to long-term economic gains by reducing future costs associated with remedial education, social services and the criminal justice system,” Bandeh-Ahmadi said.
“Longitudinal studies show that investing in early childhood education, like pre-K, leads to long-term economic benefits, including generating substantially more tax revenue than the initial cost,” they added.
While a divided Congress might not deliver all of Harris’ education policy goals, there has been bipartisan support among governors for childcare and early childhood education, for example.
Harris’ education and workforce development policies could also help middle-class workers advance in their careers, especially as new technologies emerge.
“As discussions around artificial intelligence heat up, focusing on both economic growth opportunities from technologies like ChatGPT and the risks they [pose to workers], Harris has a pointed opportunity to emphasize her historic support for education by championing programs that upskill the workforce through vocational training, community colleges, K-12 education and other institutions of higher learning,” Bandeh-Ahmadi said.
Affordable Healthcare
Harris’ healthcare policies could also help middle-class Americans’ wallets, even if she’s only able to pass a narrower version of her ambitions.
“While she’s passionate about healthcare and family-friendly policies, we can expect her to focus more narrowly on policies that have broad bipartisan support across the public. These include capping prescription drug prices and allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices,” said Bandeh-Ahmadi.
Harris’ policies could also tackle more of the roots of healthcare costs.
“We could also expect her to try to enhance coverage of preventative healthcare, ensure parity of coverage for mental health and fund programs to support the healthcare workforce, all of which contribute to increasing the supply of health workers and lowering the cost of healthcare,” said Bandeh-Ahmadi.
Family Friendly Policies
Under the Biden-Harris administration, the pandemic-related American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 expanded the child tax credit from $2,000 to as much as $3,600, depending on the child’s age and parents’ income. While that expansion expired after 2021, Harris has been campaigning on similar issues of family-friendly policies, such as those around affordable childcare, elder care and paid family leave.
Although gridlock could pose some limits, Bandeh-Ahmadi still sees the potential for family-friendly policies to come to fruition under a Harris presidency, which could help the middle class financially.
“An affordable childcare credit is another family-friendly policy with some bipartisan support she is likely to champion. She could also go further to champion more creative policies to narrow the wage gap between men and women, as well as that faced by teachers, as she’s done in the past,” said Bandeh-Ahmadi.
Housing Affordability
Rising real estate prices have made it difficult for many Americans to buy homes. Apartment rents have also been increasing, particularly in the Midwest and Northeast, according to Apartments.com.
However, the middle class could get some relief under a Harris presidency.
For example, Harris has focused on policies like “tax credits for renters who are spending at least 30% of their incomes on rent and utilities in the Rent Relief Act of 2018 and 2019. Look for her to find more creative ways to make housing more affordable and accessible,” said Bandeh-Ahmadi.
Tax Relief
Lastly, middle-class earners could benefit from some tax relief under a Harris presidency. Although Republicans are sometimes framed as the more tax-friendly party, Harris has shown support for middle-class tax relief, and that could lead to bipartisan policies that help many Americans’ finances.
“Tax relief has always been a central part of Harris’ agenda and we can expect this to continue, particularly given how important this is for both parties. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is set to expire in 2025, and with tax policy facing the slow movement in a divided Congress, Harris could propose alternatives that reintroduce or expand on the LIFT the Middle Class Act which she introduced in 2018,” said Bandeh-Ahmadi.
“We can expect significant refundable tax credits for middle-class families making less than $100,000, aimed at increasing disposable income and reducing the impact of inflation over the past four years. She’s also committed to not raising taxes on families making $400,000 or less,” she explained.
Final Thoughts
Harris’ history as a senator and vice president, along with her current campaigning, provides some clues as to how her policies could help the middle class. And while in some ways her presidency could resemble Biden’s, such as how they’ve both supported child tax credit expansions, she also could go her way on some issues if elected president.
“While many of these policies are extensions of what we’ve seen from the Biden-Harris administration on tax relief, housing policy, affordable healthcare, as well as support for jobs and training programs, Harris sets herself apart from Biden on trade policy, where she has opposed loosening trade agreements that hurt workers or the climate,” said Bandeh-Ahmadi.
“She’s not as protectionist as Trump, whose tariffs threaten to increase prices and inflation substantially, but not quite as free-market as Biden. Harris also brings a greater focus on racial and income inequality given her history reforming criminal justice in California as attorney general,” they noted.
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