Dems Scramble To Walk Back Harris' Price Control Scheme

Democrats are in damage control mode after Kamala Harris' communist price control scheme received a harsh rebuke - including from the Washington Post, which characterized it as "populist gimmicks."

Facing pressure to defend the plan, Democratic lawmakers are downplaying it as a pipe dream that has no chance of passing Congress, Politico reports.

The plan, unveiled as part of Harris' first big economic policy speech, has become a focal talking point for Donald Trump and allies, who continue to frame it as "communist price controls." Meanwhile, food industry officials and some left-of-center economists have warned that price controls could be detrimental, according to the report.

Central to the plan is a call for congress to pass the first-ever federal price gouging ban on food and grocery stores - mirroring legislation reintroduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) earlier this year, for which Warren was taken to task by CNBC's Joe Kernen.

CNBC Host Becomes Distraught After Elizabeth Warren Talks Past His Argument Against Her Price Gouging Position pic.twitter.com/Z8IHsLtVlD

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 23, 2024

Now, six Congressional Democrats and five Democratic aides tell Politico that they've been privately telling critics that the plan isn't viable - and is instead a messaging tactic to to divert blame over inflation from the Biden-Harris administration.

Even many Democrats remain skeptical, or at least uncertain about how Harris would carry out her proposal, if elected. They’re still working on getting details, but many have left that for after the DNC. -Politico

"It’s clear to me these are very general, very lofty goals," said one of the Democratic lawmakers.

"I honestly still don’t know how this would work," said a second Democratic lawmaker.

According to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, "I think people are reading too much into what has been put out there," adding that the proposal was intended to address the issue in "broad strokes."

Harris has been under pressure to provide more detail on her policy priorities, after four years largely toeing the line set by President Joe Biden and his aides. The rollout of her plan to combat food inflation, however, has sparked concerns among business leaders over which economic advisers are driving her policy decisions. Pieces of her plan, like increasing competition in the meat sector, are straight from the Biden playbook under his former top economic adviser Brian Deese — who is now advising Harris’ campaign. But the broad price gouging language that’s triggered so much backlash signals a more progressive agenda.

That backlash has tempered Harris allies’ initial push to paint the proposal as a bold, progressive idea. Since introducing the price gouging plan, her advisers have sought to soften criticism of the proposal by downplaying its overall impact on the market — and emphasizing that the goal is simply to target a small cohort of potential “bad actors,” rather than generate the kind of sweeping overhaul suggested by the plan’s initial rollout. -Politico

Harris' plan does have its defenders, including Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).

Top Harris economic adviser Brian Nelson told reporters at the DNC in Chicago that the plan was 'simply' aimed at matching federal standards with so-called price gouging guardrails that already exist in 37 states - something Warren attempted to argue with Kernen.

That said, the existing rules only apply during emergencies such as the COVID pandemic.

"She’s going to work with Congress to ensure that it is directed at bad actors, bad activity," said Nelson. "It’s not meant to set prices or price levels or anything like that. And that is not the way current state laws around price gouging are."

When pressed during a Bloomberg News roundtable to elaborate, Nelson failed to provide any specific examples of price gouging - and deflected by describing Harris as simply trying to outline her own principles on the issue.

"One of the principles is really to make sure that the federal legislation aligns with those state laws," he said.

Meanwhile, the National Grocers Association - an industry group that represents the independent supermarket sector, called Harris' plans "a solution in search of a problem."

"Rather than proposing new legislation far-off in the future," the government should focus on enforcing antitrust laws already on the books, the group said.

"I’m sure it polls well," said one food industry official granted anonymity. "But it’s an obvious effort to deflect blame from her administration on inflation."