(The Center Square) – The economy and 40-year-high inflationary costs remain a top issue among voters and are expected to be a central topic at Tuesday night’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
While the Biden-Harris administration has blamed businesses for increased prices, several administration policies will increase consumer costs even more, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says.
Well before Harris announced her plan to implement price controls, the Biden-Harris administration proposed policies, that if fully implemented, will increase vehicle, credit card and airline ticket costs and restrict consumer discounts, the chamber argues.
When it comes to increasing vehicle costs, the Biden-Harris Federal Trade Commission issued a “Combating Auto Retail Scams Trade Regulation” Rule to regulate consumers’ ability to compare prices and shop online. The rule, which the FTC claims will save consumers time and money, imposes regulations that could cost consumers $38 billion over 10 years, impose $51,000 in annual costs on dealers, among other concerns, the Center For Automotive Research argues.
This is after auto loan delinquencies reached a near 30-year high last November, The Center Square reported. High interest rates are driving up monthly payments for used and new vehicles, making them unaffordable for many Americans, according to several reports. That’s on top of car insurance rates surging 26% in one year under the administration, which are expected to remain elevated through next year.
When it comes to increasing credit card costs, the Biden-Harris Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a regulation to cap late fees, which it acknowledged in the Federal Register may cause costs to go up. “Cardholders who never pay late will not benefit from the reduction in late fees and could pay more for their account if maintenance fees in their market segment rise in response – or if interest rates increase in response and these on-time cardholders carry a balance,” it says.
This is after credit card debt topped $1.14 trillion in August for the first time in history as more Americans rely on credit card debt to make ends meet. Household debt, credit card balances, car loans and delinquencies have all climbed under the Biden-Harris administration, The Center Square reported.
The CFPB also proposed new regulations to limit low-fee bank checking accounts. The plan “will likely force banks to eliminate overdraft options and other banking services altogether,” the chamber argues, resulting in “higher costs for most banking customers.”
The Biden-Harris Department of Transportation also proposed a rule to require currently optional fees to be included in airline ticket purchases.
Currently, airlines offer options for lower-priced fares, providing options for refundable tickets, checking bags, selecting premium seating, waiting in line and other services. The options allow the airlines to “lower the base price of a standard fare,” the chamber says. The DOT’s plan will “create more confusion about the actual base price of an airline ticket,” the chamber notes, and “may also lead to higher overall prices as it becomes more difficult for passengers to locate and book the lowest possible fare.”
Limiting the airlines’ ability to charge for user-based fees will lead to higher prices for all passengers who don’t want to pay for them, a Washington Post column explains.
The Biden-Harris Federal Trade Commission also announced it was resurrecting an 80-year-old Robinson-Patman Act to prohibit companies from offering discounts. By doing so, it was wading “into a dispute that has pitted advocates of efficiency and low prices against supporters of small, independent businesses for well over a century,” the Washington Post reported.
The administration argues discounted prices are a form of price discrimination. Democratic and Republican administrations haven’t enforced the Robinson-Patman Act in over 40 years. If it were enforced, “consumers would see the end of discounts on travel when they book early, savings when they shop at large or bulk retailers, and potentially an end to most other discounts,” the chamber says.
Biden-Harris administration actions were taken as the national debt topped $35 trillion for the first time in history in July, consumer prices are up close to 50% on a range of goods compared to four years ago, hundreds of companies announce bankruptcies and closed, and half of all small businesses surveyed say they won’t survive another four years of Biden-Harris policies, The Center Square reported.
Harris has said her solution to high inflation that skyrocketed under the Biden administration is to increase taxes. Former President Donald Trump says his plan to improve economic conditions includes decreasing taxes, prioritizing American manufacturing, imposing tariffs, reducing inflation, among other measures.
Harris and Trump are statistically tied in the polls, with Trump leading slightly in most swing states.
According to a The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted in conjunction with Noble Predictive Insights, inflation/price increases (45%) and the economy/jobs (24%) are top concerns among voters.
“Inflation is a high-ranking issue among Democrats and Republicans and True Independents,” David Byler of Noble Predictive Insights, told The Center Square. “Every political group thinks this matters.”
