Donald Trump campaign Sunday A McDonald’s in Pennsylvania highlighted his fight against Kamala Harris to court a much sought-after group of working-class voters with the potential to decide the outcome of a critical swing state presidential election.
To win them over, the former president is trying to turn the previous presidential election into a referendum on the record of the Biden-Harris administration, while the vice president hopes to choose between two conflicting agendas. Harris has called for expanding the child tax credit, subsidies for first-time home buyers, a higher minimum wage and guaranteed paid leave, while the former president has called for extending tax cuts and reducing regulations to lower energy costs.
The data shows that lower-paid workers — such as those working at fast-food restaurants — are less likely to vote. In fact, it’s almost a linear relationship: the less money you make, the less likely you are to run for office. According to Tufts University. Both candidates are trying to persuade and woo voters in the final weeks before the election, and Trump serving fries to supporters at McDonald’s was an attempt by the wealthy real estate mogul to reach voters. Making or breaking his ambitions to return to the White House.
According to McDonald’s, about 1 in 8 Americans at one point he worked in a fast-food chain.
With the economy and cost of living consistently ranking as top issues, especially for credulous voters, the two candidates’ wage-earning economic agendas could determine how these core voters in battleground states vote.
Low-wage workers would benefit more from Harris’ plans than from Trump’s, according to an analysis by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of the policies presented by the two candidates.
“When you look directly at the policies, there’s no question that Harris is a little more skewed toward low-income workers,” said Kent Smetters, a business professor who worked on the analysis.
The lowest-earning 20% of households could receive an average of $2,300 in various federal incentives under Harris’ plan, compared to about $350 under Trump’s plan, Smetters said. Incentives under Harris include an increase in the child tax credit, health care subsidies and help for first-time home buyers.
But some of the gains made by low-wage workers under Harris will be offset by slightly slower wage growth as a result of the higher corporate tax rate Harris has also proposed compared to Trump, Smetters said. When factoring in this slower wage growth, low-wage workers would see about $1,750 more in benefits under Harris than under Trump, he said.
Trump has offered more vague ways to improve the overall economy, such as cutting regulations and cutting corporate taxes, which he says will spur business investment. It is unclear how these will translate into benefits for lower-paid workers.
Trump has also proposed tough tariffs on imports that he says will encourage companies to move manufacturing to the United States, though economists say that could push up prices and trigger another wave of inflation. Trump has also said he would deport millions of immigrants, which could increase demand for workers and therefore wages, but also lead to labor shortages that would raise prices.
The Wharton School’s analysis did not take into account the impact of either candidate’s proposals to exempt tips from federal taxes, because implementing such a plan would require too many additional regulations to avoid large losses in tax revenue, Smetters said.
The clash comes in the midst of national restructuring. White voters without college degrees — who also tend to be low-income — have leaned Republican because of cultural divides, but Harris is using economic appeals to test and limit the margins of defeat in rural areas. Trump is also trying to poach some of the Democratic coalition’s mainstay black and Latino working-class voters in a strategy that, if successful, could shape the outcome of battleground states like Pennsylvania and Arizona.
Mid-October A survey by the Associated Press measured which of two candidates voters trusted on various economic issues. Harris scored 10 points on “taxation of the middle class”, 2 points on “jobs and unemployment” and 5 points on “housing prices”. Voters gave Trump 2 points for managing “food and gas prices” and 5 points for tariffs.
There are certain misunderstandings in the agenda of both candidates. Harris’ campaign declined to say where it wants to set the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 an hour. Her campaign also did not say how many weeks of paid leave would be guaranteed or how the costs of paying those workers would be covered during that time.
Meanwhile, Trump dodged several questions about whether he supports raising the minimum wage. The president also did not say whether he was in favor of guaranteeing paid leave.
Low-wage workers have seen the biggest wage increases in the economy over the past four years, but continue to face the biggest financial struggles when it comes to paying the rising cost of housing, food and utilities.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, fast-food restaurant workers earn an average of $16.26 an hour, an all-time high, and wages have risen 8% when adjusted for inflation since President Joe Biden took office.
Under Trump, hourly wages for these workers rose 10.7% after adjusting for inflation.
This gap shows the extent of inflation under Biden and Harris. although it is now reverting to its long-term averageaffected wage earners. Since February 2021, the consumer price index has increased by 19.4%. During the Trump administration, this indicator increased by only 7.6%.
In general, low-wage workers in the economy have seen the largest wage increases since the start of the pandemic. Adjusted for inflation, wages for low-income workers have risen nearly 17% since 2019, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute. This compares to just a 7% increase for average wage earners when factored in for inflation.
The Harris campaign also highlighted his pro-union stance and said taxes on imported goods would be passed on to the middle class in the form of higher prices, undermining Trump’s aggressive tariff proposal.
“Donald Trump wants middle-class tax increases, and Kamala Harris wants middle-class tax cuts,” Harris campaign spokesman James Singer said. “Donald Trump wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kamala Harris will strengthen and expand the Affordable Care Act. And most importantly, while Donald Trump is using workers as leverage, screwing and selling them out, Kamala Harris has an agenda to help them and their families achieve the American dream.
Trump’s team defended the tariffs against China as a takeover.
“President Trump will not only restore the buoyant economic environment of his first term, but will also eliminate taxes on tips and overtime pay and oppose Communist China’s efforts to harm American workers,” Republican National Committee spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in an email. “Working families like it ordinary Teams “I strongly support President Trump because only he will make America rich, strong and great again.”