Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to members of the media upon arriving at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on September 22, 2024.
Matt Rourke | via Reuters
Over 400 economists and former economists white house Policy advisers expressed support for Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump in an open letter Tuesday.
The support comes as Democrats and Republicans vie to position their respective candidates as the better option for the U.S. economy in November’s election, as national polls show the high cost of living remains voters’ top priority. It was held in
“The choice in this election is clear,” the letter said. “The choice is whether we want injustice, economic injustice and uncertainty in Donald Trump, or we want prosperity, opportunity and stability in Kamala Harris.”
The majority of the 405 signatories are progressive economists, many of whom served in Democratic administrations, including President Joe Biden, former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
Among them is Harvard University economist Jason Furman, who served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Obama administration. Evercore founder Roger Altman, former deputy Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration. Penny Pritzker, former Secretary of Commerce in the Obama administration. Alan Blinder, former Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve System. They include former staffers from regulatory agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. CNN I was the first to report support.
Some of the people on the list, including Biden’s former National Economic Council director Brian Deese, are already privately advising the Harris campaign.
Several of the signatories worked under Republican administrations. Sean O’Keefe served as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget in former President George W. Bush’s White House. Philip Brown was a staff member on former President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers.
The letter could provide a talking point for Harris’ economic-focused speech scheduled for Wednesday, in which she is expected to unveil new policy proposals.
Some of the signatories, such as Furman, have criticized some of Harris’ proposals in the past. For example, he opposed her plan to ban the federal government from “price gouging” in the food and grocery sector.
“Did you like her suggestion about price gouging? No.” furman He said this in an August interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Jason Furman, an economist at Harvard University.
Anjali Sundaram | CNBC
Still, he joined a chorus of economists who oppose many of Trump’s economic proposals, including hard tariffs on all imports, deep corporate tax cuts, and giving the president a say in the Federal Reserve’s decisions on interest rates. I’m joining.
Before Mr. Biden decided to withdraw from the race and support Ms. Harris, economists, mostly progressives and center-leftists, had already expressed opposition to Mr. Trump’s plan and supported the Democratic ticket. was.
In one case, 16 Nobel Prize-winning economists endorsed Biden’s candidacy on June 25, two days before the fateful debate that ultimately led to the president declining reelection.
