Drug Prices Are Finally Coming Down— Bigly
On Wednesday, GOP pollster Frank Luntz— no friend Trump’s— was a guest on CNBC’s Squawk Box, who confirmed that if the election were held today Kamala would win and there’s even more to it than that. “She’s bringing out people who are not interested in voting for either Trump or Biden. So the entire electoral pool has changed,”he said. “And if it continues in this direction, you have to start to consider Democrats winning the Senate and Democrats winning the House.” That’s a Blue Wave he’s talking about.
“The actual people who are participating… She’s got intensity now. She’s got an intensity advantage. She’s got a demographic advantage. And I haven’t seen anything like this happen in 30 days in my lifetime.”
Asked how big that marginal extra voter that she’s bringing in and how much does that change the pool, Luntz replied, “One percent, maybe two. That’s it. But that’s enough… The people who were ‘undecided’ have all collapsed towards Harris. The people who were ‘weak Trump’ have all collapsed towards ‘undecided.’ It’s this broad shift. I’m trying to do a focus group tonight with undecided voters under the age of 27 for a major news outlet. And I can’t recruit young women to this because they don’t exist as undecided voters. You shift the demographics, and you shift the entire outcome… The issues and conditions favor Donald Trump. He should be winning this election. But the attributes are so much in Harris’ favor that he’s not... Why is Donald Trump saying publicly, [he wants] to fire the same people that he’s getting now, still getting, union members? It’s ridiculous. It’s as though he’s lost control. And I know there are billionaires who watch this show who are spending a lot of money on Donald Trump and they don’t understand why he’s committing political suicide.”
She’s talking about the number one issue that’s facing the country,” said Luntz, and Donald Trump is talking about crowd size. Tomorrow she’ll “call on Congress to pass a federal ban on price gouging as part of her economic platform to lower grocery prices and everyday costs. That action, to be announced during a speech in North Carolina, is among others she will take in her first 100 days in office to lower high grocery costs… Her plans to bring down grocery prices are a key part of broader plans to lower costs for Americans… proposals show how she would expand Biden’s focus on price gouging and food costs, according to the plans detailed by her campaign. In addition to her push for the first-ever federal ban on price gouging by food corporations, she would also direct the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to investigate and levy penalties on food companies that violate the federal ban, the campaign official said. Harris is also set to argue that Trump’s plans, including threats to slap new, broad tariffs on U.S. imports, will only drive up costs for food and other everyday items.”
Harris will argue she wants to give the FTC more authority to crack down on price-fixing and other tactics. Under Biden, White House officials have argued that FTC Commissioner Lina Khan is already doing what can be done to curtail unfair practices.
Harris’ call for a federal ban on price gouging mirrors legislation from Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and vulnerable incumbents Bob Casey (D-PA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), among others. The legislation has been stalled in Congress amid GOP opposition.
Similar to Biden in recent years, Harris on Friday will also argue that the small handful of corporations that control the U.S. meat supply have driven up consumer prices unfairly since the pandemic, according to the campaign official.
Biden’s former top economic adviser Brian Deese was the main driver behind steps the president took to target big meat companies. Deese is now advising Harris as she readies her own economic plans.
Harris will also say Friday she will continue a Biden-Harris administration initiative to help small businesses compete in the meat industry, which has invested billions of dollars into the effort.
Harris will also lean into her experience cracking down on corporate greed as California’s attorney general. She’ll more aggressively investigate and prosecute price-fixing through meat supply chains, and direct her administration to take new steps to crack down on unfair mergers that could inflate food prices, according to the campaign official. That follows dozens of cases in recent years alleging price-fixing by major meat companies and the FTC’s ongoing challenge of the largest proposed supermarket merger in U.S. history, between Kroger and Albertsons.
This morning the White House announced that drug price negotiations will knock hundreds of dollars— in some cases thousands— off the list prices of 10 of Medicare’s most popular and costliest drugs. The discounts range between 38 and 79%. Example— the diabetes drug Januvia will go down to $113 from $527. Another one we hear advertised on TV all the time, Elquis— to prevent and treat blood clots— is going from $521 to $231. “More drugs will be selected each year as part of Medicare’s drug price negotiation program. Medicare will select up to 15 additional drugs covered under Part D for negotiation in 2025, up to an additional 15 Part B and D drugs in 2026, and up to 20 drugs every year after that.”
Not all Americans will agree with her plan. But a healthy majority will. Take a look at this polling from 3 months ago:
Jerrad Christian is running for a seat held by knee-jerk MAGA Republican Troy Balderson, who opposes every solution that can he interpreted as a “win” for Democrats— or that helps working families. Christian told us that “The inflation reduction happening now is a step in the right direction and a relief for working families who’ve been feeling the squeeze. I’ve been there— I know what it’s like to stretch every dollar, wondering if the paycheck will cover the essentials. This progress is about putting food on the table, keeping the lights on, and making sure our kids have what they need. We’re finally seeing some relief, and that means a little less pressure on all of us.”
Comments