Think tank president questions whether Kamala Harris has done enough to address income inequality

Kamala Harris.
(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Some observers have questioned whether Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, has built enough of her platform on finding ways to mitigate extreme wealth and corporate power in the U.S., The New York Times reports.

While fellow candidates like Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have focused heavily on ideas revolving around taxing the rich and even — in Warren's case — breaking up major technology companies, Harris has seemingly been quieter on the subject so far.

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"I have really been looking for a more robust agenda around addressing incomes, and especially wealth at the top," Boushey said. "I don't see an agenda that addresses those profoundly important questions."

Harris defended her vision for change in her interview with the Times, arguing that she supports a public works program to improve roads and other transit systems, which the Times writes is uncontroversial and supported across the Democratic ideological spectrum. "Do you call that grand systems change, or not?" Harris asked. "I don't know, but I'll tell you that it will have a profound impact on a lot of people's lives." Read more about about Harris' political belief system at The New York Times.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.