Gretchen Whitmer says critics of Harris’ price gouging plan are ‘reading too much’ into it

Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer defended Vice President Kamala Harris’ price gouging plan on Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” dismissing critics as “reading too much” into Harris’ policy proposals.

Since Friday, pundits have questioned Harris’ economic plan, unveiled in a North Carolina speech, which addressed housing, high prices, and tax cuts. Whitmer supported Harris’ proposal for a federal ban on “corporate price gouging” in food and grocery stores, emphasizing how Harris is advocating for “corporate responsibility.”

“Well, I think people are reading too much into what has been put out there. We know that Kamala Harris is going to be focused on building up more affordable housing. We know that Kamala Harris has already delivered on making sure that health care is more accessible and affordable for Americans and will protect Obamacare. That’s a million people who have healthcare in Michigan right now that Donald Trump’s been trying to rip away,” Whitmer said.

“That only adds costs onto people’s backs and so that’s why I think this opportunity economy that Vice President Harris is talking about and laying the broad strokes for … she sees every American, she understands what people are struggling with, and wants to help you keep more money in your pocket,” Whitmer continued. “They go toward housing, healthcare, and the fundamentals and she got to plan on all those fronts to help more Americans be able to get a path to prosperity.”

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NBC host Kristen Welker, however, continued to press the Michigan governor as she highlighted critics of the price gouging proposal before pressing Whitmer again on the issue by asking if the plan was “anything more than a gimmick.”

“I think it speaks to Kamala Harris’ values that she wants consumers to keep more money in their pockets and she wants Americans to be able to get ahead. She wants to make sure there is corporate responsibility. We know we have to have business growth in this country, small business growth, big business growth for good paying jobs,” Whitmer responded. “We also know that you can’t gouge and hurt the American consumer just to pad your bottom line, and I think there’s a balance there, and I think that’s what this is all about.”

Since the beginning of this year, voters have voiced their concerns about the economy, with only 23% viewing the conditions as excellent or good, 36% saying the conditions are poor, and roughly 41% viewing the outcome as “only fair,” according to a May study conducted by the Pew Research Center.

Prior to Harris’ speech, Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell released an op-ed piece for the outlet criticizing the vice president’s plan and stating it was “hard to exaggerate how bad” the policy is. Fox Business host Larry Kudlow and former Obama economist Jason Furman also criticized the price gouging plan’s unrealistic goals, warning that targeting corporations on prices could lead to higher costs for Americans and potential black markets.

“The good case scenario is price gouging is a message, not a reality, and the bad case scenario is that this is a real proposal,” Furman told The Washington Post.

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