Staff Reports
**Kicking the Price Gouging Habit: A Cautionary Tale for Harris’ Economic Proposals**
In recent weeks, the economic proposals from the Harris campaign have been a hot topic, raising eyebrows and, let’s be honest, quite a few heartbeats in conservative circles. Among the chatter, a rather curious idea popped up: price gouging controls. If you ever heard the phrase “the government knows best”, then brace yourself because what’s coming is a whole new level of economic brainstorming that may just leave folks scratching their heads. Kevin O’Leary, known from “Shark Tank,” has weighed in on the matter, suggesting that this approach resembles something out of a Soviet-style playbook. And that’s a big ol’ red flag.
Price gouging, particularly during emergencies like floods or natural disasters, has certainly drawn its critics. While local regulations often find a way to prevent sellers from taking advantage of desperate buyers, proposing nationwide gouging controls seems akin to tossing a match on a pile of dynamite. O’Leary insists that America is not a country that benefits from top-down pricing policies. This kind of economic theory has already been a spectacular flop in places like Venezuela and North Korea, and nobody wants to see the same fate here at home, thank you very much.
Then there’s the sensational idea of building three million new homes in the United States. Sounds great, right? Everyone loves having a roof over their heads! But O’Leary, who operates in the real estate market himself, points out that getting three million permits might be the biggest wishful thinking since someone decided to hunt for unicorns. With red tape as thick as molasses in some states, the reality of this proposal unfolding is about as likely as your pet goldfish taking a swim in the ocean. And let’s not forget that throwing money at lower-income homebuyers may be a nice sentiment, but in the tight, inflation-ridden market we find ourselves in, it could backfire faster than a kid on a sugar rush.
As the conversation transitions to tax policy, concerns grow even graver. Harris’ plan appears to be a cocktail of higher taxes for high-income households, which doesn’t inspire much confidence among those who understand economics. Toss in a proposed increase in capital gains tax and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. O’Leary worries that making the U.S. less appealing to investment capital could have serious repercussions. The last thing Americans need is to create a landscape where entrepreneurs feel like they need to flee the country to thrive. True, capitalism can be a wild beast, but it is also the engine that has propelled the American Dream for over two centuries.
What might work as a tax incentive for some could hamstring the backbone of our economy — the small and medium enterprises that grind away each day to keep the lights on and the employees paid. In fact, a whopping 62% of jobs in America can be traced to these businesses. The reality is, American success stories are built from the ground up, not handed down from above. Messing with the system that allows individuals to chase their dreams could very well lead to frustration, unemployment, and a decreasing quality of life for thousands.
As the Harris campaign continues to roll out these proposals, one can only hope that voters take a closer look. A true understanding of the consequences behind these ideas is critical. Americans know what they need: a government that supports entrepreneurship, not one that burdens it. If there’s one thing that should be certain, it’s this — crushing the American Dream with ill-conceived tax policies and price controls is not a road to success; it’s the fast track to disaster. The American people deserve more than gimmick-laden strategies; they deserve real solutions grounded in reality, not just lofty ideals.
