Published by FOX Business | September 10, 2024
Inflation and affordable housing loomed large during the Harris-Trump presidential debate
Former President Trump and Vice President Harris led off the high-stakes presidential debate Tuesday with a discussion about the cost-of-living crisis and economic challenges Americans are facing.
The first faceoff between the two, held in Philadelphia and hosted by Disney-owned ABC News, kicked off with a question posed by moderator David Muir to Harris about whether Americans are better off than they were four years ago in terms of the economy and the cost of living under the Biden-Harris administration.
Vice President Harris said her economic plan is “about lifting up the middle class and working class of America” and wants to build an “opportunity economy” before discussing elements of her economic platform.
“We know that we have a shortage of homes and housing, and the cost of housing is too expensive for far too many people,” Harris said. “We know that young families need support to raise their children, and I intend on extending a tax cut for those families of $6,000 — which is the largest child tax credit that we have given in a long time — so that those young families can afford to buy a crib, a car, but clothes for their children.”
Harris noted her plan to give a $50,000 tax deduction to those starting businesses and criticized Trump’s tax cut plans and tariffs.
Former President Trump responded and said inflation wasn’t a problem when he left office despite the tariffs, which he noted the Biden-Harris administration left in place, adding inflation “has been a disaster for people” under his successor.
“We’ve had a terrible economy because inflation, which is really known as a country buster, it breaks up countries. We have inflation like very few people have ever seen before, probably the worst in our nation’s history,” Trump said. “We were at 21%, but that’s being generous because many things are 50%, 60%, 70% and 80% higher than they were just a few years ago.”
The cost of things like beef, eggs and auto insurance have seen volatile double-digit increases in recent months.
As of May, the consumer price index — a broad measure of the price of everyday goods, including gasoline, groceries and rent — was up more than 19.4% from January 2021, when the Biden-Harris administration took office.
