Grocery stores prices rise as the wholesale cost of food rise. The price of eating out is another matter.
Don’t Worry, Were Stupid!That seems to be the message of Democrats following a backlash over absurd price controls that Kamala Harris has sponsored.The Hill comments Hill Dems try to tamp down backlash to Harris’ grocery price gouging pitch
Under pressure to defend Kamala Harris’ grocery price gouging plan, some Democratic lawmakers are delivering a quiet message to anxious allies: Don’t worry about the details. It’s never going to pass Congress.
The Harris campaign’s proposal, unveiled as part of her first big economic policy speech, has become a focal point for her presidential rival, Donald Trump, and fellow Republicans, who claim she’s pushing “communist price controls.” It has also alarmed food industry officials and even some left-of-center economists, who’ve warned such policies can hurt more than they help.
While much in Harris’ price gouging plan remains vague, a central piece grocery price gouging plan on price gouging in the food and grocery sectors, which largely mirrors legislation reintroduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) earlier this year.
But such a bill has no chance of passing Congress anytime soon, even if Democrats win the White House and Congress this November, according to six Democratic lawmakers and five Democratic aides who were granted anonymity to discuss the matter candidly. These people said Democrats in Congress have privately been telling critics that this part of the Harris plan is not viable.
“I think people are reading too much into what has been put out there,” echoed Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a potential 2028 presidential contender, during an Aug.18 interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press. The proposal, Whitmer added, was intended to address the issue in “broad strokes.”
That backlash has tempered Harris allies’ initial push to paint the proposal as a bold, progressive idea. Since introducing the price gouging plan, her advisers have sought to soften criticism of the proposal by downplaying its overall impact on the market — and emphasizing that the goal is simply to target a small cohort of potential “bad actors,” rather than generate the kind of sweeping overhaul suggested by the plan’s initial rollout.
“She’s going to work with Congress to ensure that it is directed at bad actors, bad activity,” Nelson said. “It’s not meant to set prices or price levels or anything like that. And that is not the way current state laws around price gouging are.”
Pressed on the issue during a roundtable hosted by Bloomberg News, Nelson could not provide any specific examples of companies that are price gouging.
Instead of pointing fingers at grocery stores whose margins are razor thin and generally track producer prices, how about a discussion of prices at fast food restaurants?February 4: Cost of Running a McDonalds Jumps $250,000 in CA Due to Minimum Wage HikesMarch 22: Senator Bernie Sanders Proposes a 32-Hour Workweek With No Loss in PayMatch 26: California Restaurants Cut Jobs as Fast-Food Wages Set to RiseJune 24: Seattle Mandates $4.99 Fee on Uber Eats to Help Drivers, Deliveries Crash 45%What About Energy?The cost of electricity is rising everywhere thanks to inane energy policy.For example, please note New York to Pay $155 Per Megawatt Hour for Wind, Current Rate is $36 Per MWHIt takes energy and fertilizer to grow crops. It takes truck to haul the goods. Harris is doing everything she can to make those prices rise.The “Biden-Harris” administration (funny we don’t here that term much anymore) is responsible for massive amounts of inflation everywhere, but Harris points the finger at grocery stores, one of the least likely sources of inflation you can find.Team Harris needs to look in the mirror to see one of the reasons prices are going up.More By This Author:Year-Over-Year EV Sales Crash, Consumers Opt For Plug-In HybridsNew Home Sales Surge In July, What Will That Do For GDP?Fed Does Not Seek or Welcome Further Labor Market Cooling
