Americans are thinking about money as they head to the polls to vote in the 2024 general election.
Fiscal issues have consistently topped voters’ lists of concerns this year, prompting former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris to double down on plans to lower the cost of living, improve job security and ensure housing affordability, among other things.
Although both candidates worked in the White House, they had very different experiences. While Trump was tasked with steering the country through the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to soaring unemployment and a severe recession, Harris (under President Joe Biden) had to navigate the economic recovery and the historic surge in inflation that followed.
Now that the economy is generally healthy and inflation is close to normal, the 47th president must create policies that will ensure economic growth. And reduce financial pressure on everyday Americans.
Here’s a rundown of Harris and Trump’s positions on seven important issues that could impact your wallet, along with links to our in-depth reporting on those topics.
Inflation
Harris: Lowering the cost of living will be at the top of Harris’s to-do list if elected. After peaking above 9% in 2022, the annual inflation rate has fallen to 2.4% – about where it should be, according to the Consumer Price Index. The challenge ahead will be to avoid another surge in inflation at a time when interest rates are likely to be cut multiple times. Harris’ plans to address further rising costs of living include combating corporate “price gouging” and reducing health care and drug costs. She will also continue the Biden administration’s efforts to eliminate unnecessary fees.
Trump: Based on pure numbers during his administration, Trump has a stronger record on inflation, and that’s what he’s running on. He has a five-pronged platform for “defeating” inflation in the future, including measures to increase domestic energy production, cut government spending and stop illegal immigration (which he blames for raising the cost of goods and services such as housing). The former president is also promising help to help Americans cope with the high prices he blames on Biden and Harris.
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Taxes
Harris: The vice president says she hopes to cut taxes for working and middle-class Americans, which she intends to achieve by expanding the child tax credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit. (She has also proposed several housing-related tax breaks aimed at making housing more affordable for buyers and renters.) While Harris is committed to taxing higher earners, she says no one making less than $400,000 a year would have to pay more taxes .
Trump: Trump’s website says he plans to pass “significant tax cuts for workers.” The proposal centers around making permanent many provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which he signed while in office. Another major component of Trump’s tax plan would impose tariffs of 20% on goods from most other countries (and up to 60% on goods from China). He also proposed eliminating taxes on tips and overtime wages.
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Housing costs/availability
Harris: Rising home prices and still-high mortgage rates have made the dream of homeownership far less achievable for millions of Americans. Harris wants to create a $25,000 down payment assistance program for potential buyers to reduce barriers. She also says her ideas to stimulate housing construction through the tax code could lead to the construction of 3 million homes over the next four years, helping to rebalance the housing market and increase housing affordability.
Trump: To lower housing costs, Trump advocates eliminating environmental and zoning regulations that hinder home construction. He compares low mortgage rates when he left office to the current average of about 6.7% for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages. If the next president manages to keep inflation under control, home buyers will finally be able to access lower mortgage rates, but there is no guarantee that Trump will do better than Harris in this regard.
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Social Security
Harris: While both candidates say they will protect Social Security and promise not to cut benefits for current recipients, they have different views on what to do with a program that faces a looming funding shortfall. Harris calls on the wealthy to “pay their fair share” to ensure full benefits are paid to current and future retirees. Many Democrats support raising payroll taxes on high earners, but Harris opposes any tax hike on those making less than $400,000 a year.
Trump: To support seniors on fixed incomes who are struggling with higher everyday costs, Trump is proposing to eliminate federal taxes on Social Security benefits. Unlike some Republicans in Congress, he opposes raising the retirement age. Trump’s plan lacks detail when it comes to funding Social Security, but he says raising taxes on working Americans isn’t necessary because there are “so many different ways to make money.”
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Stock market
Harris: The stock market, as measured by the S&P 500 index, is up more than 50% since January 2021, more than recovering from the pandemic-induced slump to reach new all-time highs. While it’s difficult to predict how markets will behave after the election, analysts say some industries, such as technology, could benefit from a Harris victory. For example, the CHIPS Act of 2022 gave a boost to the tech industry, while Trump’s desire to crack down on big tech monopolies is seen as a threat to stock performance. Investors should also be aware that Harris wants to increase the highest tax rate on long-term capital gains to 28%.
Trump: Tax cuts and low interest rates during Trump’s presidency helped the stock market soar more than 60%. While many tech donors are relying on Harris, other parts of the market, such as the financial sector (where donors favor Trump), could see higher returns if the former president is re-elected. Trump supports lowering corporate tax rates and cutting regulations, which he says are slowing economic growth. He also promises to “drill, baby, drill” and will scale back environmental policies, potentially favoring energy stocks.
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College expenses
Harris: Harris’ website touts her experience helping increase Pell Grants for low-income students and securing investments in historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions and tribal colleges. The website says she plans to “continue to work to end the unsustainable burden of student loan debt,” without disclosing additional details or commenting on the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness proposals currently before the courts. .
Trump: In the Republican platform, the former president says he supports lowering the cost of education and creating “significantly more affordable alternatives to traditional four-year higher education.” Trump called the Biden administration’s repeated efforts to push for widespread student loan forgiveness publicity stunts and predicted they would be “scolded.” But the executive action on student debt that Biden has tried to push through student loan forgiveness is a move Trump is familiar with: He was the one who first suspended federal student loan payments during the pandemic.
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Crypto
Harris: The vice president’s economic policy book does not vet cryptocurrency, although it does mention its intention to “encourage innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital assets.” The most specific plans Harris has laid out regarding cryptocurrencies are part of her agenda for Black men, which includes plans to support a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and other digital assets “so that Black men who invest in and own these assets are protected “
Trump: The Republican candidate, who has previously called cryptocurrency a scam, spent much of his campaign wooing investors with his plans to “end the Democrats’ illegal and un-American crackdown on cryptocurrency,” according to his platform. His stated priorities include opposing the development of central bank digital currency (CBDC), protecting the right to mine Bitcoin, and ensuring full control over his digital assets. Trump himself owns about $6.7 million worth of cryptocurrency, has his own token, and supports the ouster of Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, who recently cracked down on cryptocurrency.
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Other materials from “Money”
Employers in these 21 states must give you paid time off to vote
Fact-checking financial statements from the Trump-Harris presidential debates
How rich are Donald Trump and Kamala Harris? Inside the Candidates’ Personal Finances