By Gauri Patel
Staff Writer
As the 2024 election approaches, American voters are presented with a choice between two distinct visions for the country’s future. Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, both the presidential nominees for their parties, offer contrasting policy approaches to the economy, immigration and healthcare that reflect broader ideological divides within the nation.
Economy
In the week leading up to the first presidential debate between Trump and Harris, both candidates reinforced their plans for the economy, the issue that U.S. voters say matters the most in this year’s presidential election. According to The Associated Press, Harris discussed her plans to boost small businesses on a campaign stop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, proposing the expansion of the small business tax credit by increasing the tax deduction for startup expenses from $5,000 to $50,000, hoping to prompt 25 million new small business applications over four years.
“You’re not only leaders in business. You’re civic leaders,” Harris said, addressing the crowd. “You are part of the glue and the fabric that holds communities together.”
Harris’ campaign focuses on initiatives to strengthen the nation’s middle class. She reinforced her message that large corporations and wealthy Americans should pay their “fair share” in taxes and supports an increase in the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent.
Harris also previously announced plans to cut inflation and reduce grocery store prices by cracking down on price gouging by food producer companies, according to The Associated Press.
On the other hand, Trump announced several economic proposals during an appearance before the business leaders of the Economic Club of New York, including plans to reduce the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15% only for companies that manufacture within the U.S.
According to Reuters, Trump also vowed to "issue a national emergency declaration" to increase the domestic energy supply by more easily clearing through bureaucratic approvals for drillings, pipelines and other energy infrastructures. Trump argued that doing so would drastically cut energy prices.
“My plan will cut energy prices in half or more than that within 12 months of taking office,” Trump said during his speech. “It will be an economic revival of our country like no one has ever seen before.”
Trump also unveiled his proposal for the creation of a government efficiency commission tasked with performing a financial audit of the federal government, headed by Tesla and SpaceX head Elon Musk. He said his plan will “rapidly defeat inflation, quickly bring down prices and reignite explosive economic growth.”
Immigration
During his speech at the Economic Club of New York, Trump said that he would seek legislation from Congress to prohibit any taxpayer-funded benefits for immigrants who have entered the country illegally. Specifically, he said he would bar migrants from obtaining mortgages in California.
Throughout his campaign, Trump has depicted migrants coming over the southern border as a significant challenge to government services and a grave threat to American jobs.
According to Reuters, he promises to enact the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history if reelected, which would force millions out of the U.S. His stance is centered on strict immigration controls, including closing gaps in the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and reinstating tougher policies.
Those policies include the Title 42 policy, a public health order which allowed border authorities to turn away migrants without the chance to claim asylum, or the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which forced non-Mexican asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for months or sometimes years for their cases to be heard before entering the country.
Harris offers a different vision for immigration. She supports comprehensive immigration reform that provides a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, especially those brought to the U.S. as children. Her policies aim to reform the immigration system, such as through a border security bill aimed at increasing funding for border patrol officers and detention facilities.
She has also supported some measures of law enforcement that align with stricter immigration controls, such as turning over juvenile immigrants arrested for crimes to immigration agents.
During a campaign rally in Atlanta, Harris spotlighted her approach to border-related crime as California’s attorney general, prosecuting transnational organized crime.
“I went after transnational gangs, drug cartels and human traffickers that came into our country illegally,” she said, according to NPR. “I prosecuted them in case after case, and I won.”
Healthcare
During his time as president, Trump sought to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, arguing it was overly expensive and ineffective. His administration made several attempts to repeal it and supported legislation that aimed to reduce its scope. Although his campaign has not proposed an alternative, he vows to renew his fight for replacing the ACA if he is reelected, according to The Associated Press.
Trump’s healthcare policies are part of a broader agenda that also includes significant restrictions on abortion. Throughout his time in office, Trump supported measures to limit abortion access, such as restricting federal funds to organizations that provide abortion services. He has also repeatedly taken credit for the overturning of the landmark Roe v. Wade case after nominating three of the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn it.
Trump previously campaigned on abortion restrictions in 2016 and 2020, but has not taken a clear stance in 2024. According to NPR, Trump expressed that the six-week abortion ban that came into effect in Florida was “too short,” although his campaign clarified that he has not indicated how he would vote on a measure that would amend the state's constitution to protect abortion rights.
In contrast, Harris supports maintaining and expanding the ACA to increase healthcare access and affordability. She also advocates for protecting reproductive rights, including access to abortion, and supports legislation aimed at safeguarding these rights. Harris also completed a reproductive rights tour earlier this year and was the first vice president to tour an abortion clinic while in office, according to The Associated Press.
