Cracks in the wall of media praise for Harris? Several media outlets criticize Vice President over price control plan

While media admiration for Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign remains generally high, several major liberal media outlets cannot stomach her latest economic policy proposal.

Harris announced on Wednesday that as president she would introduce a “nationwide ban on food and grocery price gouging” to stop “big corporations” from taking advantage of consumers. Media outlets such as the Washington Post, CNN and Newsweek published reports that tore the idea to pieces.

“Whether Harris' proposal will convince voters remains to be seen. But if sound economic analysis still counts, he won't,” the liberal-leaning Washington Post editorial board wrote on Friday.

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If implemented, the Harris campaign's proposal would give the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general the power to impose harsh penalties on companies that set excessive prices.

“There is a big difference between fair prices in competitive markets and inflated prices that are disproportionate to the cost of doing business,” the Harris campaign said in a statement. “Americans can see that difference in their grocery bills.”

The Post's editorial board criticized Harris for her idea, saying it wasn't even clear what her plan was. “Ms. Harris says she will target companies that make 'excessive' profits, whatever that means.” She also expressed relief that the plan was thwarted from the start.

“Fortunately, this move by Ms. Harris was met with skepticism almost immediately, with many critics pointing to President Richard M. Nixon's failed price controls of the 1970s.”

A well-known Washington Post columnist this week was even more scathing about Harris' price control proposal. Columnist Catherine Rampell wrote on Thursday: “It's hard to overstate how bad this policy is. It is, in all but name, a comprehensive set of government-enforced price controls on all industries, not just food.”

Rampell added that this would be contrary to free market economics: “Supply and demand would no longer determine prices or profit levels. That would be done by far-away bureaucrats in Washington. The FTC could, for example, tell a Kroger in Ohio what an acceptable price to charge for milk.”

The columnist also said that these policies lend credibility to those who claim Harris has “communist” political leanings. “If your opponent claims you're a 'communist,' maybe you shouldn't start with an economic agenda that could (accurately) be called government price controls,” she wrote.

A day later, Rampell walked back her condemnation of the proposal after watching Harris' speech about her economic plans. In an X-post, the columnist wrote: “Yes, her speech still contained some silliness, but her comments on prices were more measured than the campaign fact sheet sent to reporters (punishing companies that raise prices above their costs, etc.). A general call for stronger antitrust enforcement is fine, and I support it.”

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Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at the Hendrick Center for Automotive Excellence on the Scott Northern Wake Campus of Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh, North Carolina, August 16, 2024. (ALLISON JOYCE/AFP via Getty Images)

CNN also took issue with Harris' price control plan. In a segment Thursday night, CNN anchor Abby Phillip mocked the proposal and seemed to agree with National Review executive editor Noah Rothman that the plan was just a tactic to attract “economically uneducated” voters.

“Is this just a trick? Because it kind of sounds like it,” Phillip asked her CNN panel, which included Professor Michael Eric Dyson of Vanderbilt University.

Dyson dismissed the criticism, saying: “Well, look, if you like it, it's called good policy. If you don't like it, you call it pandering.” However, an incredulous Phillip countered: “But is that really policy? I mean 'price gouging'?”

Dyson's questioning suggested he didn't even think the proposal was realistic. “Look, if she can do that, Lord have mercy,” he said, adding, “I mean, she may have to be pope and not president, but at least she can set the tone.”

CNN business reporter Elisabeth Buchwald published a report with experts on Friday detailing that “Harris' plan to end price gouging could create more problems than it solves.”

The reporter quoted Gavin Roberts, chair of the economics department at Weber State University, as saying: “When prices are high, in most cases the best policy response is to do nothing.”

The price control plan would “likely help maintain the status quo,” he said, because it would deter new competition from entering the market and taking advantage of higher profit margins – competition that could have helped lower prices in the long run.”

She also quoted Obama administration economist Jason Furman, who told the New York Times: “This is not a sensible policy, and I think the biggest hope is that it ends up being a lot of rhetoric and no reality.”

A Newsweek article by reporter Jesus Mesa also cited economists to argue that the policy proposal was “riddled with problems,” “unlikely to address the root causes of price increases, and could even backfire.”

Mesa quoted Scott Lincicome, vice president for general economics and trade at the Cato Institute, as saying, “The idea of ​​a political solution to an economic non-problem is flawed. There is little evidence that corporate greed or price gouging is to blame for high food or housing prices.”

Glynn Tonsor, an agricultural economist at Kansas State University, told Newsweek that companies aren't necessarily driving up prices, but are often just trying to cope with their own rising expenses.

“The costs of raising animals, processing them into meat and transporting the meat to the consumer are higher than before,” he said.

ECONOMIC COMMENTATOR WARNS HARRIS' PRICE CONTROL PLAN HAS ALREADY BEEN TRIED IN VENEZUELA, ARGENTINA AND THE SOVIET UNION

The Washington Post editorial board also sharply criticized Harris' price control plan. (ALLISON JOYCE/AFP via Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Lincicome rounded out the argument, adding: “Preventing price increases sounds good, but what do investors and farmers do when they cannot guarantee a return on investment or cover their costs? They cut back on their investments, which leads to lower supply and even higher prices or outright shortages.”

When asked for comment, the Harris campaign issued a statement to Fox News Digital detailing all the support the vice president has received for her economic policy proposals. “In response to the proposals, Democratic leaders, economists and analysts have praised her plans to build the middle class and ensure that hard-working Americans have the opportunity to not only make ends meet, but to get ahead.”

It included quotes from media personalities such as CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer and Democratic lawmakers such as Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) praising Harris' economic plans.

“The vice president is proposing tax cuts for lower and middle class Americans and cracking down on price gouging. Meanwhile, Trump is proposing more tax cuts for the rich and super-rich and praising Elon Musk for firing striking workers,” Blitzer said in a recent episode of “CNN Newsroom.”

“She's going to talk today about how to lower prescription drug prices, there will be incentives for first-time home buyers, there will be efforts to combat price gouging in grocery stores. There's a whole host of specific and concrete tax benefits for the middle class and actions by the federal government that would address the everyday economic concerns of 100 million working Americans,” Coons said during an appearance on “CNN's News Central.”

Fox News Digital's Jeffrey Clark and Kristine Parks contributed to this report.

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