Pieces from CNN, Newsweek, and The Washington Post ridiculed Harris’ economic proposal.
CNN commentator Scott Jennings said Friday that Vice President Kamala Harris’s price control proposal would cause an economic catastrophe, possibly leading to collapse.
Although the media’s adoration for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign might still be intense, several major liberal outlets have not been able to stomach her most recent economic policy proposal.
Harris announced on Wednesday that she would enact a “federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries” as president to stop “big corporations” from taking advantage of consumers. Media outlets like Newsweek, the Washington Post, and CNN published reports annihilating the idea.
“Whether the Harris proposal wins over voters remains to be seen, but if sound economic analysis still matters, it won’t,” wrote the left-wing Washington Post editorial board on Friday.
If instituted, the Harris campaign’s proposal would give state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission authority to impose stiff penalties on companies for setting overly high prices.
“There’s a big difference between fair pricing in competitive markets and excessive prices unrelated to the costs of doing business,” said the Harris campaign. “Americans can see that difference in their grocery bills.”
The Post editorial board took Harris to task on her idea, stating that it isn’t even clear what the plan is. “Ms. Harris says she’ll target companies that make ‘excessive’ profits, whatever that means.” The board additionally expressed relief that the plan was getting hammered out of the gate.
“Thankfully, this gambit by Ms. Harris has been met with almost instant skepticism, with many critics citing President Richard M. Nixon’s failed price controls from the 1970s.”
This week, a distinguished Washington Post opinion columnist was even more challenging on Harris’ price control proposal. On Thursday, columnist Catherine Rampell wrote, “It’s hard to exaggerate how bad this policy is. In all but name, it is a sweeping set of government-enforced price controls across every industry, not only food.”
Rampell added that it flies in the face of free market economics policies, adding, “Supply and demand would no longer determine prices or profit levels. Far-off Washington bureaucrats would. The FTC would be able to tell, say, a Kroger in Ohio the acceptable price it can charge for milk.”
The columnist additionally said the policy gives credibility to those saying Harris has “Communist” political leanings. “If your opponent claims you’re a ‘communist,’ maybe don’t start with an economic agenda that can (accurately) be labeled as federal price controls,” wrote Rampell.
One day later, Rampell reversed her condemnation of Harris’ proposal after watching the vice president’s speech about her economic plans. In a post on X, the columnist wrote, “Yes, there was still some silliness in her speech, but her comments on prices were more toned down than campaign factsheet sent to reporters (punishing companies that raise prices above their costs, etc.). A generic call to increase antitrust enforcement is fine, and I support it.”
CNN also attacked Vice President Harris’ price control plan. In a segment Thursday evening, CNN anchor Abby Phillip ridiculed the proposal, appearing to agree with National Review senior writer Noah Rothman that the plan is only a tactic to snag voters who are “economically illiterate.”
“Is this just a ploy? Because it sounds kind of like it,” Phillip queried her panel of CNN guests, which included Michael Eric Dyson, Vanderbilt University professor.
Dyson dismissed the criticism and said, “Well, look, you know, if you like it, it’s called good policy. If you don’t like it, you call it pandering.” But, an incredulous Phillip shot back, “But it is really policy? I mean, ‘price gouging’?”
Dyson’s follow-up suggested he didn’t believe it was a realistic proposal. “Look, if she could do that, Lord, have mercy,” he stated, adding, “I mean, she might need to be the pope as opposed to the president, but she’s able at least to set the tone.”
Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN economics reporter, published a report Friday featuring experts detailing how “Harris’ plan to stop price gouging could create more problems than it solves.”
The journalist cited Gavin Roberts, chair of Weber State University’s economics department, and wrote, “When prices are high, in most cases, the best policy action in response is actually taking no action.”
Harris’ price control plan is ‘more likely to maintain the status quo’
Harris’ price control plan is “‘ more likely to maintain that status quo,’ he said, because it would keep new competition from moving in to take advantage of the bigger profit margins — competition that could have helped lower prices in the long run.”
Additionally, she quoted Jason Furman, an Obama administration economist, who told the New York Times, “This is not sensible policy, and I think the biggest hope is that it ends up being a lot of rhetoric and no reality.”
A piece in Newsweek by reporter Jesus Mesa additionally quoted economics experts to argue that the policy proposal is “riddled with problems, “would be unlikely to address the root causes of price increases, and could even backfire.
Mesa quoted Scott Lincicome, Cato Institute Vice President of General Economics and Trade, who said, “The idea of a political solution to an economic non-problem is flawed. There’s very little evidence that corporate greed or price gouging is responsible for high grocery or housing prices.”
Glynn Tonsor, a Kansas State University agricultural economist, told Newsweek that corporations aren’t particularly gouging prices; they are often only attempting to manage their own increasing expenses.
“The cost of raising the animal, converting it into meat, and getting that meat to consumers is higher than it was,” said Tonsor.
Lincicome finished the argument, adding, “Preventing price increases sounds good, but what do investors and farmers do when they can’t guarantee a return on investment or cover their costs? They cut back on investment, leading to reduced supply and even higher prices or outright shortages.”
When Fox News Digital asked the Harris campaign for a comment, they provided a statement that detailed all the support the vice president has received for her economic policy proposals. “In reaction to the proposals, Democratic leaders, economists, and analysts have praised her plans to build up the middle class and ensure that hard-working Americans have an opportunity not just to get by but to get ahead.”
The campaign also provided quotes from figures like Democratic legislators like Democrat Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, and CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, praising Harris’ economic plans.
“The vice president is proposing tax cuts for lower and middle-class Americans, and she’s cracking down on price gouging. Meantime, Trump is proposing more tax cuts for the rich and the very, very rich and praising Elon Musk for firing workers who are on strike,” said Blitzer during a recent episode of “CNN Newsroom.”
“She’s going to be talking today about ways that prescription drug prices are coming down, that incentives will be offered for first-time homebuyers, that there will be an effort to combat price gouging at grocery stores. There’s a whole series of specific and concrete middle-class tax benefits and federal actions that would address the everyday economic concerns of 100 million working Americans,” said Coons during a “CNN’s News Central” appearance.
