The Issues: Harris’ Anti-Price Gouging Proposal

Este artículo estará disponible en español en El Tiempo Latino. To address increased food and grocery prices, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has promised to enact a federal ban on price gouging. In an Aug. 16 press release, the campaign vowed to “go after bad actors to bring down Americans’ grocery costs and keep inflation in check.”& The Harris campaign’s proposal arrives amid heightened concerns from voters regarding the cost of living. On Aug. 21, Ipsos reported that “50% of Americans now say inflation is a top concern for their country.” While the rate at which grocery prices have increased has slowed in recent months (including only a 1.3% rise over the last year), the price of “food at home” has still increased by 21.6% since the start of President Joe Biden’s term in January 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.& Harris blames the surge in food prices, in part, on corporate price gouging. At an Oct. 23 town hall event on CNN, she said, “Companies are taking advantage of the desperation and the need of the American people — we saw it, actually during the pandemic as well, where, because of supply chain issues, there was a...