During an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday, 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris responded to a question on how she would implement her plan to ban “price gouging” without doing price controls by stating that “I am never going to apologize for going after companies and corporations that take advantage of the desperation of the American people.”
MSNBC host and NBC Senior Business Analyst Stephanie Ruhle asked, “[A] serious problem over the last few years has been inflation. Luckily, it’s cooling, but prices are still high. You said you want to take this on by going after those who engage in price gouging. But as somebody who supports free markets, who’s a capitalist, how do you go after price gouging without implementing price controls? Because once we get in the zone, people start to get worried and they say, I don’t know what she stands for.”
Harris responded, “So, just to be very frank, I am never going to apologize for going after companies and corporations that take advantage of the desperation of the American people. And I — as attorney general, I saw this happen, in the midst of an emergency, whether it be an extreme weather event or even the pandemic we saw it, where those few companies — not the majority, not most — but those few companies that would take advantage of the desperation of people and jack up prices. Yeah, I’m going to go after them. Yes, I’m going to go after them. And that is part of a much more comprehensive plan on what we can do to bring down the cost of living, including housing, including the everyday needs of the American people.”
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