Kamala Harris’ economic plan to hand out “free” stuff to struggling Americans in the form of downpayments for houses and child care subsidies would end up costing U.S. taxpayers nearly $2 trillion, according to one estimate - which, let’s be honest, almost always come up short.
“Vice President Harris’s recent proposals laid out as part of her Agenda to Lower Costs for American Families could increase the nation’s deficits by $1.7 trillion over a decade, a new analysis found, though the campaign is vowing offsets through taxes on the rich,” the Hill reports.
Among Harris’ proposals are a promise to up the child tax credit to $6,000 for certain families with newborns and up to $3,600 per child in tax credits for those who qualify. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), that proposal alone would cost about $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years.
Related: Harris to Propose $25,000 Tax-Funded 'Assistance' for First-Time Homeowners
It also includes a promise to cancel billions’ worth of student loan debt and medical debt, a pledge to give $25,000 in downpayment assistance to certain first-time homebuyers, and an investment in affordable housing - all of which would've cost at least another $700 billion by 2035, according to the CRFB.
In fact, “The group estimates the proposed plan could cost $1.95 trillion over 10 years, but notes that figure could climb to $2.25 trillion if some of the proposed housing measures set to take place if Harris is elected are made permanent,” the Hill reports.
So how’s Harris suggesting she’ll pay for all this free stuff? She doesn’t seem to know - other than offering that it’ll eventually “pay for itself,” while her campaign points to “increased taxes on corporations and high earners” on how they’ll magically come up with $2 trillion above and beyond the already-bloated federal annual budget of $4.5 trillion.