To the editor:
Democrat strategist James Carville once stated, "It's the economy, stupid." Kamala Harris supported Joe Biden's failed policies and will continue those policies if elected. She was the tie-breaking vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, which was an abysmal failure and authorized the IRS to aggressively tax tips. Inflation increased significantly after the Inflation Reduction Act passed. Her economic policy to date is to quit taxing tips, which Trump proposed in June; a new parent tax benefit of $6,000 after Vance proposed a $5,000 tax benefit; Soviet-era price fixing which led to food shortages and bread lines; and increasing corporate taxes to 25 percent, which will ultimately increase inflation.
This is an example of the Biden-Harris economy. I am on a budget for my utilities, but each month I am told the "actual cost." My electric usage for the month of July was 1,091 and my actual cost was $197.41. My usage in August 2018, during the Donald Trump administration, was 1,091 and the actual cost was $120.06. This same usage under Biden-Harris cost $77.35 more. Our energy bills will remain increased if Harris-Walz are elected.
In a recent interview on Newsmax, financial adviser Robert Kiyosaki reported that when Biden-Harris took office, the cost of a barrel of oil was $30. The Biden-Harris administration stopped drilling and the price of a barrel of oil is now $130. This led to inflation. Trump would begin drilling for our own natural resources on the first day of his administration. Harris and Tim Walz have been against fracking and fossil fuels. There is no indication that they would allow fracking or use of fossil fuels if elected. Remember all the good-paying, middle-class jobs that we lost when Biden-Harris stopped drilling. Fuel prices more than doubled. Food and other goods became costly. Good-paying jobs and lower prices could return with a Trump-Vance administration.
Look at the price of groceries. An article by David Patten listed increases in groceries such as: Eggs up 40 percent, flour up 28 percent, butter up 35 percent and baby food up 30 percent (Newsmax Magazine, August.) The increase in the price of fuel has led to the following: Farmers pay more to run their equipment and get supplies, which causes farmers to increase prices, transportation costs have increased significantly leading to more increase in prices. The stores have to pay more for the products, so stores increase prices. Economist Stephen Moore recently wrote that the average U.S. household has spent $8,000 more under the Biden-Harris administration than the Trump administration. The average inflation rate during the Trump administration was 1.9 percent while it has been 6 percent during the Biden-Harris administration (Herald-Star, Aug. 8.)
Democrats proclaim "joy" with a Harris-Walz administration. Harris has announced few policies for the Harris-Walz administration, but looking at past practice, can we believe the policies will be any different than the Biden-Harris policies, especially economic policies. Are you better off economically than you were four years ago? Will you vote for "joy" or a better economy?
Michalene King
Wintersville