One of Harris’s economic advisors had a rough Tuesday morning after getting embarrassed while appearing on a supposedly friendly network to the campaign.
Harris economic advisor Bharat Rama appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning to sell the audience on a key portion of his boss’s socialist $5 trillion tax plan.
Rama attempted to explain to the hosts that taxing unrealized gains was fair, only applied to a small number of rich people, and was similar to a property tax.
But, as CATO notes, Harris’s tax scheme includes a new minimum tax of 25 percent on traditional income and unrealized capital gains for taxpayers with more than $100 million in total wealth. While supposedly just targeted at the rich, such a tax would create widespread economic damage while proving unworkable and blatantly unconstitutional.
Understanding these facts, hosts Becky Quick and Joe Kernan easily exposed Rama’s economic ignorance and took him to school while making fun of him. Especially Kernan, who also laughed at him.
Watch:
Kamala Harris’ economic advisor Bharat Rama supports taxes on unrealized gains (aka money you don’t actually own).
In the CNBC interview, Rama appears to misunderstand the basic difference between property taxes and taxes on unrealized gains: pic.twitter.com/siUFWBsrdB— Lena Petrova (@LenaPetrovaOnX) August 28, 2024
QUICK: Taxing unrealized gains just doesn’t seem fair in any sense of the word. In the very best sense, if you were taxing unrealized gains, all you are doing is pulling forward the taxes that would be paid later when somebody actually sells the stock.
RAMA: I, I, I, think this reaction to taxing unrealized gains is a little funny given that I bet the majority of the people watching right now are already paying a tax on unrealized gains. It’s called a property tax.
KERNAN (derisively): Property tax. That’s an old trope.
RAMA: When the value of your home goes up, you pay higher taxes.
QUICK: The value of your home never moves the way your stock moves…
KERNAN (mocking Rama while agreeing with Quick): It’s not the same. That’s (Rama’s comment) always the go-to answer (by liberals).
QUICK (continuing): The property tax is a use tax. You’re paying for the schools, you’re paying for emergency services…Those are things that make absolute sense.
RAMA: Sure. And all of the revenue that comes from these unrealized gains, taxes, and the other taxes in the Harris plan is going to go to what she calls more opportunity…
QUICK: But it’s not actually people who are using the services.
RAMA: Look, you are arguing that this is some sort of foreign concept that’s completely unknown…
KERNAN: It’s probably unconstitutional…
QUICK: It’s not income.
KERNAN: And it’s never going to happen…Not in my, well, not in my lifetime (laughing at Rama)…Not in Becky’s lifetime!
Yup, let’s keep peeling off trillions of dollars in spending until a loaf of bread costs 100 dollars a loaf and you can only get it by buying it in the black market.
WOW! Did CNBC at some point choose to swallow the red pill and see how deep the rabbit hole is!
More likely a leftist move to BAIT&SWITCH give it time and don’t forget where they sided for 10yrs atleast!
The left talks about trillions of dollars as if it’s pocket change Once they turn America in to a socialist hellhole , through increased inflation then they can control everything and secure their positions in the hierarchy, while the people will be forced to live like the early settlers. The good news is that most democrats would die first , except the evil elite.
They (the Democrats in DC) want your gas ,stoves,autos,money by taxes ,guns,jobs,freedom,your right to speak out against them your rights to vote if you vote other than dem your ability to move about the country ,your pvt health insurance,your children’s morality,your life if your a white male hetero,your women,your unborn babies! NEED I SAY ANY MORE ?! YEAH VOTE FOR KAOS KAMALA&FALSE WALZ IF YOU WANT DEMOCRACY YEAH RITE! WONDERFULL COUNSELOR PRINCE OF PEACE HOLY FATHER SAVE OUR CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC FROM THESE EVILDOERS NOW LORD GOD IN HIS HOLY NAME ,AMEN