Janice R. Andrews
Vice President Kamala Harris criticized former President Donald Trump’s economic record in the first debate of the 2024 election. She focused on the jobless rate that rose while Trump was in office. Harris said that Trump was to blame for what she called “the worst U.S. unemployment in decades” and said that the COVID-19 plague had hurt the economy.
As Harris spoke, she said, “Donald Trump left us with the worst unemployment since the Great Depression.” We also have the worst public health problem in a hundred years and the worst attack on democracy since the Civil War because of him. During a tense debate, both candidates talked about their plans to fix the economy, which is a big issue for voters right now because of high inflation and rising gas prices.
What Trump said in response and his economic plan
In answer to Harris’s criticism, Trump supported his economic policies and talked about what he would do if he won the 2024 election. One of his main ideas was to put a big tax on things that come from other countries. He said this would help American businesses. Trump said that he would put a 10% tax on all imports, and some things could face a 20% tariff. He also said that he would put a 60% tax on Chinese goods because he saw China as the United States’ biggest economic rival.
Harris did not like Trump’s plan at all and said it was like a national sales tax that would hurt regular Americans. Trump responded by saying that Harris and the Biden administration could have taken down the taxes while they were in office if they didn’t like them.
Harris also talked about her economic plan, which focuses on making homes more affordable and helping small companies. As part of her plan to help business owners, she suggested that new businesses get a $50,000 tax break.
How many people were out of work when Trump was in office?
The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge effect on the U.S. economy while Trump was president. It caused jobless rates to rise sharply. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says that unemployment hit its highest point in April 2020, at 14.8%. This was the highest monthly rate that the BLS has seen since it started keeping track in 1948. In February 2020, before the pandemic, the jobless rate was only 3.5%.
The Rate of Unemployment Right Now
The jobless rate in the U.S. was 4.2% in August 2024, and about 7 million people were out of work. As the country continues to deal with inflation and other economic problems, the rate has stayed a source of worry.
Economic Plans Cause a Fight
During the discussion, Trump bragged that well-known teachers from the Wharton School of Business, where he went to school, supported his economic plan. But Harris said that Trump’s plan would make the debt worse and could put the country in a slump. She used statements from 16 Nobel laureates who said Trump’s policies were bad for the business.
Trump, on the other hand, stuck to his plan and said that it would boost the economy, create jobs, and make the country richer overall.
