How Harris’ vision for the economy is a twist on Biden’s

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In January 2023, Vice President Harris gave a little-known speech about the economy in Chicago. “We are building an economy, as President Biden often puts it, from the bottom up and the middle out,” she said. “And I’ll add, from the outside in.”

That last phrase was an aside, but it was also a telling glimpse into how the vice president thinks about the economy — and her focus on wealth creation, racial equity and access to capital.

Among White House officials and economic advisers NPR spoke with for this story, there was a consensus that Harris’ economic vision is largely aligned with the Biden economic agenda, focused on strengthening the middle class and trying to lower costs. But the vice president is likely to highlight different priorities to achieve that goal. And the clearest sign of that is what she’s prioritized in the past.

What Harris is saying now that she’s the nominee

On the campaign trail, Harris talks about the economy in bold, yet broad terms.

“We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity to build a business, to own a home, to build intergenerational wealth — a future with affordable health care, affordable child care, paid leave,” Harris told a crowd in Atlanta last week, when for the first time in her nascent campaign, she put out details around her economic platform. “All of this is to say: Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency.”

She pledged on “Day 1” to take on “price gouging.”

In her stump speeches, she ticks through plans to lower costs that echo the administration’s existing efforts: ban hidden fees and cap unfair rent hikes and prescription drug costs.

Next Thursday, Biden and Harris are planning a joint appearance to discuss their efforts to lower costs for Americans.

Like Biden, Harris also contrasts her vision with GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, insisting his plans would raise prices for middle-class families. Trump has multiple proposals intended to appeal to middle-class Americans, like eliminating taxes on tips and Social Security benefits. He’s also repeatedly said he would raise a variety of tariffs, which economists say would raise prices for American consumers.

Where Harris is distinguishing herself from Biden

While Harris’ economic vision is largely a continuation of the Biden agenda, there is a degree of differentiation.

In 2019, when she was in the Senate, Harris co-sponsored legislation to increase the child tax credit. And upon becoming vice president, she was particularly passionate on the issue.

“I saw with my own eyes the way that she fought for and championed the expanded child tax credit,” said Michael Pyle, Harris’ former chief economic adviser at the White House, referring to the COVID-era American Rescue Plan.

Former White House officials and advisers say Harris has specifically been a vocal supporter of policies that help working families with children.

In February 2021, amid the pandemic, she took to the pages of the Washington Post to warn that the “mass exodus of women from the workforce” was a “national emergency” and called for “affordable and accessible childcare.”

“The vice president wanted the care agenda to be a part of their economic agenda,” said Ai-jen Poo, an advocate and organizer for caregivers. “Historically, the care agenda shows up as a child care pillar inside of a women's agenda.”

But looking at care as part of a broader economic agenda, Poo said, was novel.

The Biden administration laid out an ambitious investment to lower the cost of caregiving. But that part of Biden’s agenda didn’t have the votes in Congress.

“After it was clear it wasn't going to make it through the Senate bill, I did have a conversation with [Harris] where she said to me that she was not going to stop fighting for those investments in the care agenda and that we shouldn't stop either,” Poo said. “I really think that she is going to double down on the pieces that are still the unfinished business.”

Another key priority for Harris as vice president has been small-business creation.

“Her very first meeting when she became vice president with ordinary Americans was with small-business owners,” Pyle said. “That’s something she made clear to me, she made clear to the entire staff — ‘This matters to me.’ ”

When Harris would travel around the country, even if visiting a city for an unrelated matter, she often made a point of visiting small, women- or minority-owned businesses.

A former Harris adviser told NPR that it was important to the vice president to bring people to the table who traditionally have not had a seat — and she did that through her work with small businesses and community-development financial institutions.

What challenges are expected ahead

But policy priorities are theoretical at a moment when the most persistent concern voters have is their daily experience with the economy.

The unemployment rate is at its highest level in nearly three years. And even though inflation has cooled from its record high of 9.1% in the summer of 2022, many Americans still say prices are too high.

“People are pretty negative about the state of the economy,” said Glen Bolger, a Republican pollster with Public Opinion Strategies.

But he said voters don’t seem to blame Harris directly for their woes the way they blame Biden.

Trump has held a significant advantage among voters on the economy throughout this presidential campaign, but the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found his edge shrinking. In June, Trump led Biden on who was more trusted to handle the economy by 9 points (54% to 45%). Now he leads Harris by just 3 points (51% to 48%).

Still, Harris is the sitting vice president. And negative impressions of the economy are traditionally more detrimental to the party in power.

“Since people have negative impressions of the economy, it's more of a drag on her than a positive,” Bolger said. “Keep in mind, she's relatively new as the candidate for president.”

NPR's Megan Lim and Jordan-Marie Smith contributed to this story.