Is It Possible To Sustain the American Dream Under Harris’s Policies? Experts Weigh In
Written by
Kerra Bolton
Edited by
Daria Uhlig
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Vice President Kamala Harris’s policies aim to increase disposable income, improve access to high-quality education and expand affordable healthcare to help low-to-middle-income earners achieve the “American Dream.” But they come at the cost of tax increases for the nation’s highest earners.
GOBankingRates talked to experts about whether it’s possible to sustain the American dream under Harris’s policies.
Wages
Harris recently told Nevada supporters that she would increase the national minimum wage from $7.25 if elected President. While she didn’t say by how much, Harris previously recommended a state minimum wage of $15 per hour.
However, Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow in business and economics at the Pacific Research Institute, said increasing the national minimum wage could lead to employees having their hours cut or losing their jobs.
“Those who can least afford it will pay the biggest price,” Winegarden said. “The irony is she’s doing it for them.”
Wealth Building Through Small Business
Entrepreneurship is one potential route to obtaining the American dream because it promises financial independence.
As vice president, Harris supported initiatives that provided $163 billion in federal contracts to small businesses, including $70 billion to those owned by socially and economically disadvantaged communities in 2022, Forbes reported.
Personal Income Tax
In 2018, Harris introduced legislation in Congress that would have provided a refundable tax credit of up to $6,000 a year for families earning under $100,000 and $3,000 for single filers earning under $50,000.
However, Harris advocated for increasing the marginal income tax rate to 39.6% for the nation’s top 1% of taxpayers. She also recommended implementing a 4% “income-based premium” tax on households earning more than $100,000 to cover the cost of “Medicare for All.”
“Harris’s policies could spur significant economic growth and restore the true vision of the American dream by making upward progress a real possibility for millions of Americans,” said Cheyenne Hunt, a Gen Z economic expert and attorney.
Hunt continued, “Her increased taxing of the ultra-wealthy would simply require them to pay their fair share. It offends the conscience of most Americans to know that Jeff Bezos pays less in taxes than our firefighters and school teachers.”
Corporate Taxes and Business Regulation
Harris supported increasing regulations on businesses, particularly those that amplify worker protections. For example, she favored legislation aiming to classify more workers as employees rather than independent contractors to provide protection and benefits.
She also recommended raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 35% and ending tax shelters for offshore corporate income.
Education
Harris backed measures to cancel student loan debt for those experiencing financial hardship or whose repayment plans started more than 20 years ago. This differed from her 2020 plan to forgive student loan debt only for Pell Grant recipients who started a business in a disadvantaged community and stayed in business for at least three years.
“Making higher education a true investment … instead of a lifelong debt sentence offers the next generation a better shot at higher earning jobs, building true savings and owning a home,” Hunt said.
Healthcare
The vice president supported expanding the Affordable Healthcare Act and exploring Medicare-for-All initiatives to lower out-of-pocket costs and increase benefits for low-income older adults and persons with disabilities.
Affordable Housing
In June, Harris announced $85 million in federal funding from the Biden-Harris administration to lower housing costs and boost housing supply through local planning, infrastructure and preservation.
Harris also proposed legislation in 2018 that would have offered tax credits to renters earning less than $100,000 and spending more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities. Both initiatives sought to make homeownership, a central component of the American dream, more attainable.
Social Security and Retirement
The “end game” of the traditional American dream is to make enough money to retire comfortably and pass along financial assets to your children upon your death.
Harris backed Biden’s proposal to raise taxes on household incomes of $400,000 or more to expand Social Security coverage for older adults, people with disabilities and low-income seniors.
Editor’s note on election coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. For more coverage on this topic, please check out Is It Possible To Sustain the American Dream Under Trump’s Policies — Experts Weigh In.
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