Kamala Harris wants to try something new: 'middle-class capitalism'

[Nevilledog]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/09/16/kamala-harris-economic-plan-vision/

No paywall link
https://archive.li/iLJoM

Vice President Kamala Harris has been exuding confidence and momentum on the campaign trail, except when it comes to the economy. In her debate with former president Donald Trump, she dodged the first question about whether Americans are “better off” now than they were four years ago. And swing-state voters say they still don’t understand her plan for the economy.

To fix this, experts keep telling Harris that she needs to release more policy details. What’s her plan for trade? For child care? For technology? For the deficit? This is lousy advice — because most voters don’t spend much time in the policy weeds. Those who do know that Congress will change the minutiae anyway. What Harris needs most is a clear economic philosophy. Voters want to understand her guiding values on the issue that matters to them most. What is her answer to “America First”?

Harris has a catchy slogan in the “opportunity economy,” but it seems intentionally vague. Everyone supports more opportunity, just as every American likes freedom. Similarly, Harris excels at using her personal story, and especially her mother’s story, to connect with voters. It resonates with people that Harris once worked at McDonald’s, and that her mother saved for over a decade to buy a home. But none of this clarifies what she would prioritize as president.

Until she defines her vision, others will keep doing it for her. Trump tries to paint her as a socialist or, worse, a Marxist. Harris’s surrogates cast her in different lights based on the audience. Investor Mark Cuban makes her sound like a pro-business moderate. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) insists she’s a fellow “progressive.”

*snip*

[bullimiami]

1. Fuck you WP for not pointing out Trumps plan is to rob the poor

Line the pockets of the rich.
And to.
Create a Dickensian world of dog eat dog.
And die if you can’t afford not to.

[BootinUp]

2. Good points in the article. Nt

[Fiendish Thingy]

3. As long as it's not rebranded neoliberalism, it's OK by me. Nt

[usonian]

4. For crying out loud. ANYTHING is better than government as feeding trough for billionaires.

This is a binary choice, not an essay question.

There's a trait of addiction and also cult membership called perfectionism. FOR OTHERS.

If someone else is not 150% perfect, then they are crap, and a good excuse to ignore them, or better yet, a great excuse for one's own failure.

This really is as binary a choice as there ever was.

There may be a trillion measures of health, but only one measure of death. For the economy, as well as life itself, its that simple.

[Zambero]

5. First, do no harm

by stopping the Trumpian robber-barons from gaining a lock on the three co-equal branches of government. If allowed to proceed as drafted, Project 2025 would establish an executive branch with dictatorial powers, aided and abbetted by an army of appointed cronies to displace an impartial civil service. An entrenched SCOTUS has ruled that the president is virtually immune from prosecution, even after leaving office. So we're already approaching a precipace. Policy details are fine, as is a vision for the future, but the much larger issue would be highlighting what must be avoided at all cost.