Former Trump Campaign Spokesman Steve Cortes: Kamala Harris Presidency Will Lead to ‘Scarcity, Shortages, and Black Markets’ for Everyday Goods

Steve Cortes, former senior spokesman and strategist for the 2016 and 2020 Trump campaigns and current head of the League of American Workers, is warning that Kamala Harris’ vow to pass the first federal ban on price gouging if she becomes president would lead to “scarcity, shortages, and black markets” for everyday goods in America.

Last week, during a campaign event in North Carolina, Harris said her plan to lower the prices of everyday goods if she were elected president would be to go after the “bad actor” businesses that are not “playing by the rules” by working to pass the first-ever federal ban on price gouging.

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Tennessee Suspends Grocery Tax Through the End of August

Tennesseans may notice their grocery bills are a little less this month, as Gov Bill Lee announced Monday that the long-awaited suspension of tax on groceries went into effect state-wide. The governor first proposed the idea in March.

“As Americans see their cost-of-living skyrocket amid historic inflation, suspending the grocery tax is the most effective way to provide direct relief to every Tennessean,” Lee said at the time.

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Virginia Budget Deal Includes Middle-Class Tax Cuts, Grocery Tax Cut

After months of debate about Virginia’s biennium budget, lawmakers reached a deal to provide an income tax cut for the middle class, a reduction in the grocery tax and a pay raise for teachers.

The deal earned approval from Republicans and Democrats in a joint conference committee, but still needs to pass the House of Delegates and the Senate and be signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Republicans narrowly control the House and Democrats narrowly control the Senate.

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Commentary: The Tax Increase That’s Hidden in Plain Sight

Americans have less money than they had last year — though taxes haven’t been raised. So what’s the problem? Inflation, which has increased at a 40-year high annual pace of 7.9%. It acts as a hidden tax because we don’t see it listed on our tax bills, but we sure see less money on our bank accounts.

In fact, inflation-adjusted average hourly earnings for private employees are down about 2.5% over the last year. This means a person with $31.60 in earnings per hour is buying 2.5% less of a grocery basket purchased just last year. “For a typical family, the inflation tax means a loss in real income of more than $1,900 per year,” stated Joel Griffin, a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation.

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