Harris takes aim at Wall Street housing ownership in first economic speech

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris promoted policies that aim to make housing more affordable Friday afternoon, while also introducing a slate of proposals that support what she dubbed the “opportunity economy.” 

“Together, we will build what I call an opportunity economy — an economy where everyone can compete and have a real chance to succeed,” she said. “Everyone, regardless of who they are or where they start, has an opportunity to build wealth for themselves and their children, and where we remove the barriers to opportunity.” 

Harris’ remarks in North Carolina complemented a flurry of policy planks released ahead of the speech, which together represent the clearest outline of her views on the economy since replacing President Joe Biden as the presidential candidate for the Democratic party nearly a month ago. 

Overall, the policies deepen many initiatives already put forward by the Biden administration, including a focus on antitrust and pro-labor positions. The economic policies spanned a range of markets, from a “first ever” ban on price gouging for food, a cap on prescription drug prices and a child tax credit that would give $6,000 per child for families with newborns. 

She also introduced a populist-centric raft of ideas around housing, including a $25,000 subsidy for first-time home buyers. 

In her remarks, she referenced her history as attorney general in California, and the work she did there following the 2008 financial crisis. 

“As state attorney general, I drafted and helped pass a homeowner bill of rights, one of the first in America,” she said. “And during the foreclosure crisis, I took on the big banks for predatory lending with many of my colleagues, including [North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper] and won $20 billion for California families when I was attorney general.”

She also took aim at Wall Street companies that buy single-family homes to market as rental properties. 

“Some corporate landlords, some of them buy dozens, if not hundreds, of houses and apartments, then they turn them around and rent them out at extremely high prices,” she said. “And it can make it impossible, then, for regular people to be able to buy, or even rent a home.” 

She also called on Congress to pass the Stop Predatory Investing Act, a bill introduced by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and other Democratic lawmakers. The bill would prevent an investor who acquires 50 or more single-family rental homes from deducting interest or depreciation on those properties. 

Harris also called on Congress to pass the Preventing the Algorithmic Facilitation of Rental Housing Cartels Act, a bill from Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Peter Welch, D-Vt., that would make it illegal for rental property owners to use companies that coordinate rental housing prices. 

“Some corporate landlords collude to set artificially high rental prices, often using algorithms in price-fixing software to do it,” she said. “It’s anticompetitive, and it drives up costs.”