Vice President Kamala Harris gave a speech about her economic vision for the country at Carnegie Mellon University on Wednesday afternoon. Harris spoke about strengthening the middle class, supporting small businesses and her economic policies over the course of her 40-minute speech.

The speech was hosted by the Economic Club of Pittsburgh. Mayor Ed Gainey, State Sen. Jay Costa, State Rep. La’Tasha Mayes and businessman Mark Cuban were present at the speech, among other notable figures.

Harris began by highlighting the economic accomplishments of the Biden administration, citing the economic recovery after the pandemic, “near record-low levels” of unemployment and the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates as successes. Harris acknowledged, however, that “the cost of living in America is still just too high.”

“Every day, millions of Americans are sitting around their own kitchen table and facing their own financial pressures, because of the past several decades, our economy has grown better and better for those at the very top and increasingly difficult for those trying to attain, build and hold on to a middle class life,” Harris said. “In many ways, this is what this election is all about.”

Harris contrasted her policies to those of former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump, saying he “intends to take America backward.”

“He has no intention to grow our middle class,” Harris said. “For Donald Trump, our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers, not those who actually build them.”

Harris explained her vision for an “opportunity economy,” saying she wants to strengthen manufacturing, housing, health care, education and small businesses while helping middle class Americans build intergenerational wealth.

“I have pledged that building a strong middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency,” Harris said. “From my perspective, it’s just common sense. It’s actually what works. When the middle class is strong, America is strong, and we can build a stronger middle class.”

Harris said she believes “an active partnership between government and the private sector” can strengthen the American economy, but noted the need for accountability.

“I’m a capitalist. I believe in consistent and transparent rules of the road to create a stable business environment, and I know the power of American innovation,” Harris said. “I’ve been working with entrepreneurs and business owners my whole career, and I believe companies need to play by the rules…and if they don’t, I will hold them accountable.”

Harris laid out her three pillars of her “opportunity economy,” which include lowering costs, investing in American innovation and entrepreneurship and “leading the world in industries of the future.”

On lowering costs, Harris said she would cut taxes for middle class families. She said under her plan, more than 100 million Americans would get a tax break, costs of childcare and eldercare would be cut and give “all working people access to paid leave.”

Harris said that as president, she would cut the cost of housing by constructing three million new homes, “take on” corporate landlords who increase rental costs and give first-time homebuyers $25,000 in down payment assistance.

“Let’s help more Americans afford to buy homes, which we know is a critical step in their ability to grow their wealth and intergenerational wealth,” Harris said.

Other policies to lower costs that Harris spoke about included enacting a federal ban on “corporate price gouging” and capping the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans.

On investing in American innovation and entrepreneurship, Harris spoke about making it easier for people to start a small business by raising the tax deduction for start-ups from $5,000 to $50,000. She set an “ambitious goal” of 25 million new small business applications by the end of her first term.

“[Small businesses] strengthen our middle class, and if we can harness the entrepreneurialism of the American people and unlock the full potential of aspiring founders and small business owners, I am optimistic that no one will be able to outpace us,” Harris said.

On “leading the world in industries of the future,” Harris said America needs to beat China in “the competition for the 21st century” and iterated the importance of investing in “industrial strength.”

“Think of Alexander Hamilton having the foresight to build the manufacturing capabilities of our new nation. Think of Lincoln and the transcontinental railroad. Think of Eisenhower and the Interstate Highway System. Kennedy, committing America to win the space race,” Harris said. “From our earliest days, America’s economic strength has been tied to our industrial strength, and the same is true today.”

When discussing construction in America, Harris said “it takes too long and costs too much to build.” She said she would work to reform permitting and “cut red tape” to speed up construction projects.

“The Empire State Building, you know how long that took to build? One year. The Pentagon? 16 months,” Harris said. “No one can tell me we can’t build in America.”

After Harris’ speech, The Pitt News spoke with three CMU students in the theater. Irianna Perez, a junior business administration major, said she went to the event because she received a last-minute invitation and was eager to hear Harris speak.

“I thought it would be a cool opportunity to listen in on Kamala Harris’ economic policy, especially considering everybody has been on the edge of their seat waiting for what she would have to say and what her plans are for the future,” Perez said.

Skylar Lukic, a senior business administration major, said he attended the speech to “feel more involved politically.”

“It just sounded like an exciting opportunity to hear about economic plans in the United States,” Lukic said. “It was just so exciting to actually feel more connected with politics in general, but also get to hear from someone so important.”

After hearing Harris speak, Valeria Minguela Torres said she liked how Harris spoke about the economy without “sugarcoating anything.”

“The middle class economy is really important towards the progress of our country, and so I think that her being very proactive about her involvement in our economy is very important,” Minguela Torres, a junior business major, said.

Perez said the decision to hold the event at CMU felt apt considering Harris’ talk about innovation.

“My major takeaways, especially being here at CMU, was that she was really interested in contributing towards innovation and having America be a leader in innovation,” Perez said. “It was really interesting to know that she was interested especially at holding this special conversation here specifically, not just because we’re in Pittsburgh, but also because we are in an educational institution that promotes so much innovation.”

Come November, Perez, Lukic and Minguela Torres said they would all vote for Harris. Perez said Harris’ stances on reproductive rights and economics are two reasons why she will vote for her.

“I am interested in voting in this presidential election for Harris particularly because of her stance on what women are allowed to do with their bodies, additionally with her plans on what the middle class economy would be, at least in comparison to the alternative candidate here in this [election],” Perez said.

Lukic said he originally wasn’t sure if he was going to vote in this election, but has ultimately decided to vote because he sees this as a consequential election.

“I’m from Texas and I didn’t really understand how much my vote actually mattered until one of my professors explained why it matters so much, especially here in Pennsylvania,” Lukic said. “But I do plan to vote [for Harris] in November just because I feel like her values align more with mine than the alternative candidate.”