Kamala Harris Unveils New Economic Plans in Pittsburgh Speech

Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled fresh economic proposals aimed at winning support from struggling former industrial centers during a speech at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

Harris has pledged to introduce tax breaks to encourage steel production and investment in other established industries, double the number of apprenticeships within a year of being elected and implement reforms to speed up the pace of American construction.

She did all this while reheating policy chops that her campaign wants to make lasting on her candidacy: a federal ban on corporate price gouging, building more affordable housing and expanding entrepreneurs’ access to capital.

The vice president got personal, contrasting her middle-class upbringing with that of former President Donald Trump, whose business career was initially based on a loan from his wealthy father.

“No one who grows up in the largest industrial or agricultural centers in America should be abandoned,” Harris said. “We don’t have to abandon the strength we know to achieve the strength we plan to achieve.”

It was Harris’ 14th visit this year to Pennsylvania, a swing state. candidates named everything necessary to win the presidential election.

Trump delivered a similar speech, aimed specifically at the manufacturing sector, in Georgia on Tuesday. But Harris’ speech in the commonwealth had particular significance for Pennsylvania.

Here are the key takeaways from her speech in Pittsburgh.

More Pennsylvanians Trust Trump on the Economy, Harris Wants to Change That

Polling data clearly shows Trump winning among voters on economic issues, although Harris is narrowing her lead over President Joe Biden.

Harris drew a clear line between her politics and Trump’s early in her roughly 40-minute speech. Harris did so by getting personal, emphasizing her middle-class roots.

“I still remember my mother sitting at that yellow Formica table … with a stack of bills in front of her, trying to make sure she could pay them off by the end of the month,” Harris said at the beginning of his speech. “Every day, millions of Americans sit at their kitchen table and deal with their own financial problems.”

Harris framed her so-called opportunity economy in three pillars: lowering costs, supporting entrepreneurship and petite businesses, and investing in manufacturing. In each pillar of her plan, Harris criticized Trump for his own policies and proposals while portraying herself as a down-to-earth candidate.

Speaking about health care costs, Harris mentioned caring for her own mother who was dying of cancer.

While discussing her plan for petite businesses and entrepreneurs, Harris touted her intention to expand the petite business tax credit to $50,000, while also saying Trump’s tax plan benefits the wealthiest. Harris accused Trump of moving manufacturing jobs overseas during his presidency.

Some analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data conducted by the left-wing Keystone Research Center shows Pennsylvania lost 23,000 manufacturing jobs during the four years of Trump’s presidency.

After bypassing the Teamsters, Harris went all-in on appealing to unions

Introducing a fresh proposal to offer tax breaks to established manufacturing companies, she touted the potential to create “good union jobs in the steel and iron industries.”

“I have always been and always will be a passionate supporter of workers and unions,” Harris said.

Her comments came after a long and ongoing epic with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and its regional conferences, which represent 1.3 million truck drivers, warehouse and health care workers, as well as other public sector workers such as teachers, across the country.

The governing body has not endorsed any presidential candidate, while the Pennsylvania Commercial Drivers Conference, which represents 95,000 members, endorsed Harris despite polling data suggesting stronger support for Trump among members. Trump viewed the union’s lack of support as a victory for his campaign.

In outlining her vision for strengthening the manufacturing sector, Harris addressed union workers. She joked that she would try to visit every International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union headquarters and mentioned the “hard work” of union apprenticeship programs, which she described as highly technical.

Harris reiterated her goal of eliminating education requirements for 500,000 federal jobs and encouraging private companies to emphasize skills.

Presidents Both Trump and Joe Biden have taken appropriate steps abolish the requirement to have a diploma for federal government positions.

Harris seeks to strike a balance between Steel City appeals and green economy

Harris’s production policy was articulate both in what it said and what it avoided.

She encouraged the expansion of “clean energy innovation and manufacturing,” while pledging to create jobs in the steel and iron industries.

“We will invest in the industries that made Pittsburgh the Steel City,” Harris said before first proposing a tax credit to create jobs in the steel and iron industries.

Harris balanced her commitment to supporting more established manufacturing industries with the Biden-Harris administration’s inflation reduction bill, which helped fund neat energy projects. Federal funding helped add 650 jobs to nearby zinc battery factoryshe said.

At the same time, she made no mention of fracking, a significant omission in a state that ranks second in natural gas production. Trump has repeatedly attacked Harris for her support for a ban in 2019, a position she has since disavowed.

Harris concluded her speech by discussing the “Steel City story” as one that ushered in the future of the U.S. economy, alluding to the idea that the region can be a leader in neat energy while also committing to creating jobs in established manufacturing.

She called Pittsburgh “[t]The city that helped build the middle class, launched the American labor movement, and enabled the development of American manufacturing.”