Commentary

No, I’m not talking about Vice President Harris‘s goofy running mate selection of Tim Walz, I’m referring to her repeated statement, “We’re not going back.”  It provides me with so much material that enables me to use her words, the words of her supporters, and, of course, the words of realists.

“Speaking in Atlanta, a powerful and commanding Harris told the crowd, ‘Donald Trump is feeling it.’  The crowd went wild.  She paused for a beat and delivered the coup de grace: ‘We’re not going back.’” – Molly Jong-Fast, Vanity Fair

The leftist MSNBC network was so impressed, it tagged it with their own opinion piece with the headline: “Why ‘We’re not going back’ is such a powerful statement.”

Former President Trump’s advisors disagree and view it as a mistake, citing the American people who are nostalgic for the Trump presidency, especially for the Trump economy and lower prices.”

Going back to Trump means returning to energy independence the single-most  policy that will drive prices down without the charges of price gouging and the threat of price fixing on goods we buy.

“Ms. Harris’s plan to curb price-gouging is tantamount to having the government set prices, which will lead to food shortages and even famine, that plagues socialist countries. “A throwback to Soviet Russia,” the Washington Post noted.

Her plan to have the FTC go after price gougers has already been tried, losing all their cases in the past three and a half years, noted Larry Kudlow of Fox Business and former advisor to Trump.

Commenting on Harris’s line, Hillary Clinton’s former campaign director Jennifer Palmieri noted: “The best campaigns – the ones that really capture and inspire voters – don’t have slogans, they have battle cries that catch on organically”

“This election, I do strongly believe, is about two very different visions for our nation.  One – ours – focused on the future and other focused on the past.  We see that contrast clearly in many ways, including when it comes to how we think about the economy.” – Vice President Harris, August 15, 2024, Raleigh, North Carolina.

If indeed, she did “see that contrast clearly,” she would see that her plan calls for looking back at ideas that failed.

In a plan introduced by her campaign on Friday, she said that as president she would be laser focused on creating opportunities for the middle class that advance economic, security, stability, and dignity called, “Opportunity Economy.”

About this time last year, Harris was singing the praise of Bidenomics. Should there be any doubt that she was involved as she said, “when President Biden and I took office, we decided to invest in the working people of America.  It’s called Bidenomics and we are very proud of Bidenomics.  It works!.”

While Harris has labeled her program, Opportunity Economy, the New York Times sees it as “an expansion of policies by Mr. Biden in his latest presidential budget and during his reelection campaign.”

C’mon, you didn’t expect here to have had a plan of her own, did you.

Harris-Walz is going back

Harris’s “genius’s” who came up with Opportunity Economy apparently were obviously unaware of her “not going back” slogan. 

They proposed a plan that didn’t work “back” in August 1971, when President Nixon established wage and price controls.  Not to mention long lines at gas stations. 

Harris’s planners could have easily found that Nixon learned from his mistakes. Nixon advisor George Schultz told the president, “at least the debacle had convinced everyone that wage-price controls are not the answer.”

At first, I thought …

…  this headline from The Atlantic said it all, “Harris’s Plan is Economically Dumb, but Politically Smart,” noting that “the vice president’s campaign promises make no sense to people acquainted with supply and demand, but they might win elections.”

“Finally, the (Harris-Walz) campaign is starting to roll out its economic platform, and the substance likely won’t appeal to many people who actually know about economics.” – Josh Barro, The Atlantic

… but then I read this …

… by the Washington Post editorial board: “The latest pitch to curb inflation is to stomp out price gouging, which is such pie-in-the-sky nonsense that it almost makes you wonder if Harris qualifies for office.  She’s not – you know that, but that’s not the point: what the hell is this campaign other than showing that Democrats have a black woman running after wrestling the nomination from Joe Biden?”

Earlier, Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell wrote, “It’s hard to exaggerate how bad this policy is.  It is, in all but name, a sweeping set of government-enforced price controls across every industry, not only food.

Misdirected campaign promise

Recalling the words of Thomas Sowell, who said, “a basic level of economics is seldom understood by the public,” it’s easy to see how voters buy into charges of “price gouging” “high profits,” and “corporate greed.”  But “political” solutions turn out to make matters worse.”

Profits, according to Sowell, are the least understood aspect of business, and have been under attack for decades.  In reality, profits are much lower than consumers believe, while providing the vital incentive businesses need to make products consumers want at low prices.

How would you like to operate your grocery store with a profit margin of 1.2 percent profit?

Harris’s plan goes beyond prices

While the measures in the Harris-Walz plan – price controls, child tax credits, tuition relief and funds to make a down payment on that first home – can all be categorized as voter bribes, they would likely have to face Congressional approval.

“Harris hasn’t gotten smarter.  (Opportunty Economy) is the product of “a vapid, uneven, and awkward  political creature, who got here because the Democrat Party is engulfed in identity politics,” wrote PJ Media’s Matt Vespa.

I don’t think she’s smart enough to realize she’s been exposed.

May God continue to bless the United States of America