Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign centers on a vision for economic support, protections for individual freedoms, and new ways of implying immigration policies. Her platform seeks to address key issues leading up to the election.

Economics 

Vice President Kamala Harris’s main economic plans are to expand the child tax credit and to continue with President Biden’s FY 2025 plan. Following Biden’s footsteps, Harris plans to continue his FY 2025 budget that includes higher taxes that aim mostly at businessmen and top earners, as seen in Tax Foundation. “Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will make sure no one earning less than $400,000 a year will pay more in taxes,” according to the Harris-Walz economic opportunity policy book. In addition to higher taxes for higher earners, she plans on giving parents of newborns a $6,000 USD tax credit, bringing back the pandemic-era expanded Child Tax Credit. The current cost-to-company (CTC) stands at $2,000 per eligible child, meaning that Harris’s new CTC plan is increasing by $4,000 a child, as stated by CBS NEWS. Her policies contribute to her main objective of building an Opportunity Economy where everyone has a chance to compete and a chance to succeed, as seen on her campaign website, Kamala Harris.com.

Social Justice

One’s own freedom is one of the concepts Vice President Harris displayed on her campaign website to highlight her social justice schemes. KamalaHarris.com states, “In this election, many fundamental freedoms are at stake: the freedom to make your own decisions about your own body without government interference; the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride; and the freedom that unlocks all the others: the freedom to vote.” Moreover, on education, Harris is Pro-Public. The Washington Post states, “Kamala Harris opposes policies that restrict how schools can teach students about race and sexuality.” Harris also plans to remove the discussion of sexuality and racism from inside the classroom as part of attacks on fundamental freedoms.

Immigration Policies

Harris’s plans for immigration are outlined on her site  and focus on preventing illegal immigration. She hopes to put a tight grip on border control while adding a humanitarian approach for documented immigrants. Harris later emphasized that “[those attempting illegal entry] will be turned back” while stressing that the United States is working to address the conditions driving migration. She encouraged legal, safe pathways to ensure that crossing the border can be done orderly and humanely, ” Bet stated.

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign highlights plans to curb inflation, promote traditional social values, and implement stricter immigration policies. His platform emphasizes reducing energy costs, restricting gender-affirming care for minors, and enforcing tighter border control.

Economics

Former President Donald Trump’s economic plan has been to prevent inflation and to return the economy to how it was during his presidency.  For the Republican party, “[They] will immediately stabilize the economy by slashing wasteful Government spending and promoting Economic Growth,” as written in Trump’s  2024 GOP Platform. For example, energy costs— specifically from foreign countries, have been one of the driving factors of inflation for many years now and Trump claims that by reducing reliance on foreign energy, prices, manufacturing, transport, and other big expenses that weigh heavily on our economy will help reduce the amount we spend, in hopes to benefit the economy. As a result, businesses could have lower operating and supply costs and reduced prices that can give consumers more money to spend on small businesses. However, lowering energy costs alone may not fix inflation, and could shake the global market.

Social Justice

With Vice President Harris having a more open-minded approach to the LGBTQ+ community, on the contrary, the statement “Republicans Will End Left-wing Gender Insanity,” is posted on Donald Trump’s 2024 GOP Platform. With this in mind, Trump plans to “[outlaw] gender-affirming care for minors at the federal level[…]ceasing all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age,” according to Glaad.  This also includes the concept of keeping men out of women’s sports, as posted on his campaign website. Speaking globally, Trump promotes the prevention of WWIII, along with efforts to restore peace in Europe and the Middle East, as claimed by his campaign website. According to Trump’s website, The Platform, in regards to global interference, he plans to take action for the United States by “deporting pro-hamas radicals and making college campuses safe and patriotic again,”

Immigration

A new way of immigration fuels a big part of President Trump’s campaign, as “seal the border and stop the migrant invasion,” is the first plan posted on Agenda 47.  “President Trump and Republicans will reverse the Democrats’ destructive Open Borders Policies that have allowed criminal gangs and Illegal Aliens from around the World to roam the United States without consequences. The Republican Party is committed to sending Illegal Aliens back home and removing those who have violated our Laws,” The Platform states. This will begin by working with local police to prioritize narrowing down the most dangerous criminals, followed by his plan of mass deportation and putting a major halt on the entry of illegal aliens.