For those who don’t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week’s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.
Sunday’s shows, coming just a few days after Vice President Kamala Harris announced her first “original” policy position — Soviet-style price controls on food — featured a revolving door of Congressional Democrats making it clear that they were fine with forgoing basic math, logic, and economic realities in their efforts to help Harris pander to the American people.
Jason Furman, top economist for former President Barack Obama, made it clear that he viewed Harris’ proposed price controls as potentially disastrous:
The good case scenario is, price gouging is a message, not a reality. The bad case scenario is that this is a real proposal. You will end up with bigger shortages, less supply and ultimately risk higher prices and worse outcomes for consumers if you try to enforce this in a real way, which I don’t know if they would or wouldn’t do.
But on ABC News’ “This Week,” Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) said she was “comfortable” with Harris’ proposal, particularly if it could be used as a cudgel to dismantle the Trump tax cuts, which she claimed only benefitted “the wealthy.”
“I am comfortable with that because what we need to do is get rid of the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy,” Duckworth told host Martha Raddatz, despite assessments from experts that the plan “would add $1.7 trillion to the federal deficit.”
Duckworth went on to say the quiet part out loud, arguing that it was about “balancing things out” — and, apparently, gouging the rich in the process.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth says she is “comfortable” with Vice Pres. Kamala Harris’ economic proposals that could possibly add to the federal deficit.
“I am comfortable with that because what we need to do is get rid of the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy.” https://t.co/ciboK04nJK pic.twitter.com/H5yEOqBZ7g
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 18, 2024
Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) attempted to moderate Harris’ decidedly-socialist policy proposal, claiming on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that it could be tempered in such a way as to ensure that it was effective but not damaging, as economic experts have predicted.
Beshear cited previous natural disasters and even the COVID-19 pandemic as proof that temporary controls to prevent price-gouging could work: “This isn’t about trying to price-fix. This has to be evidence-based. Ultimately, you bring an action, and you have to prove it in court. So you have to have the evidence that this is beyond supply demand — that this is people taking advantage of us.”
He did not mention the fact that so far, the evidence suggests grocery stores — even the larger corporate-owned grocery stores — operated on very slim profit margins (just 1-3%) and were simply doing their best to manage the inflation-driven skyrocketing food prices.
Asked about VP Kamala Harris’ plan to enact stricter penalties for price gouging on food, Kentucky’s @GovAndyBeshear says that state attorneys general have filed cases that show how this can be done, particularly during the COVID pandemic and after natural disasters.
“This isn’t… pic.twitter.com/XD4kItut2g
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) August 18, 2024
On CNN, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) joined “State of the Union” host Jake Tapper to discuss Harris’ economic policy, and like a good politician, his defense was long on the pre-rehearsed talking points … and short on facts.
“Kamala Harris has articulated a very important plan to make sure that we are lowering costs for everyday Americans, that we are ending price gouging throughout the country, and that, of course, we are growing the middle class,” he said.
Of course, he too neglected to offer any evidence that high grocery prices were actually the result of “price gouging” rather than runaway inflation still being driven by President Joe Biden’s economic policies. He also failed to explain how Harris’ policies — which had ultimately resulted in shortages and higher prices everywhere they’d been tried — would magically “grow the middle class” when implemented in the United States.
.@RepJeffries: “Kamala Harris has articulated a very important plan to make sure that we are lowering costs for everyday Americans, that we are ending price gouging throughout the country, and that, of course, we are growing the middle class.” pic.twitter.com/UvBTfoVbIG
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) August 18, 2024
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Governor Gretchen Whitmer tagged in, claiming that Harris’ economic policies were a direct reflection of her personal “values” and only meant that “she wants consumers to keep more money in their pocket” while encouraging “corporate responsibility.”
“So you think it’s smart policy?” anchor Kristen Welker pressed.
“I think that any effort we make to keep more money in Americans’ pockets is worth walking the path and having the conversations,” she insisted. “How do we make this economy work for everybody?”
Whitmer also claimed as others had — without offering any evidence — that corporate grocers were engaged in “price gouging.”
WATCH: @GovWhitmer (D-Mich.) reacts to VP Harris’ price-gouging plan amid criticism, saying “It speaks to Kamala Harris’ values.”@kwelkernbc: “So you think it’s smart policy?”
Whitmer: “Any effort we make to keep more money in Americans’ pockets is worth walking the path.” pic.twitter.com/y9vKbttLF0
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) August 18, 2024
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