“Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”
This is an opinion piece by Wisconsin Congressman Tom Tiffany.
As Kamala Harris steps onto the debate stage for the first time to face Donald Trump, we should ask ourselves: Are you better off now than you were four years ago?
As Wisconsinites grapple with rising prices, inflation has become the number one issue for voters across our state. The Biden-Harris administration’s economic policies have led to historic inflation, making it nearly impossible for many American families to make ends meet. We feel the reality of these failed policies every day as we go to the grocery store and pay for gas and electric bills.
Skyrocketing prices affect everything, ranging from everyone’s favorite appetizer, cheese curds, to an ice-cold beer at Lambeau Field. Consider this: in 2020, a pound of cheese curds cost $4.99. Today? You’ll pay an increase of nearly 50%. The price of a beer at a Packer game has jumped by 15%. A Milwaukee staple, the Bavarian soft pretzel is up 23%. Even Harley-Davidson, which proudly is headquartered in the Badger State, is not immune— the price of a basic model motorcycle has ballooned from $7,600 to $12,000, a 58% increase.
It’s undeniable that inflation has hit Wisconsin hard, and the cause is clear: the Biden-Harris administration’s reckless spending and socialist economic policies. But when Kamala Harris takes the debate stage, I don’t expect her to acknowledge the reality of the pain these policies have caused. Instead, she’ll likely focus on rehashing tired talking points and dodging real questions about her agenda’s impact on the hard-working Wisconsinite – remaining unburdened by what has been: her record of disaster.
The truth is that Harris’s economic plan is built on false promises and a radical Left ideology. Her support for Soviet-style price controls is a direct assault on the free market and would do nothing but lead to shortages, stifle growth, and exacerbate inflation. Just ask Russia how price controls and other socialist policies worked for them in the 1980s.
Wisconsin families want to know why their grocery bills have doubled and why their favorite local products are becoming unaffordable. We want leadership that will rein in inflation and support policies that promote job growth and increase wages.
Yet, we are unlikely to hear a plan from Kamala Harris that addresses these concerns. Instead, she will continue to claim that the economy is steadily recovering under her watch and boast about the number of jobs created during the Biden-Harris administration. But these claims are hollow when Wisconsin families see their paychecks stretched thin, their savings depleted, and the American dream slipping further out of reach.
Our state is built on hard work, family values, and the ability to create opportunity for the next generation. But Kamala Harris’ radical policies threaten that very foundation.
And her extreme record proves she’s a radical California Democrat. She’s previously supported policies like banning fracking, abolishing private health insurance, and defunding the police. These policies would leave countless Wisconsin communities in the lurch.
Kamala has flip-flopped on top issues that are critical to our safety and security, such as border security. Harris once called Trump’s border wall a “vanity project” and “unAmerican,” but when she saw the polling not trending her way, she shifted her position in favor of building the border wall, showing the American people she’s more interested in political expediency than in safeguarding our country.
This debate will be an opportunity for Harris to finally explain her agenda, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. What we will see from Harris is more deflection. Everyone should be asking: If she had an agenda that worked and economic policies that helped Americans, then why hasn’t she done it in the last four years?
Put simply, her record speaks for itself—extreme policies, broken promises, and an agenda that has failed to address the top issue for our families: the economy.
It’s time for real leadership, and Wisconsin deserves a leader in the White House who puts hard-working Americans first. It’s time to fire Kamala Harris and bring back the Trump economic boom.
