Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Investing

Summarizing Harris’s Policy Book with a Word Count

by September 27, 2024
September 27, 2024
Summarizing Harris’s Policy Book with a Word Count

Tad DeHaven

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris released a “policy book” this week, laying out the policies she would pursue in office. It clocks in at eighty-two pages, but approximately fifty pages have text as there are lots of pictures and filler. 

Inspired by my colleague Chris Edwards’ selected word count for the president’s fiscal 2024 budget, I decided to do the same with the Harris policy document. For people who don’t have the time or interest in reading the entire Harris document (i.e., normal people), this should quickly provide the gist. (Note: I tried to omit instances where a word’s usage was unrelated to proposed policies.) 

The first word that pops out when looking at the table of contents is “lower,” as in lower costs for Americans, which Harris is promising to do for, well, just about everything. Indeed, “lower” and its related variants like “lowering” show up almost 40 times. I recommend reading my colleague Ryan Bourne’s book, The War on Prices, to understand why one should be wary of politicians pursuing such a seemingly noble cause.

The big winner is “invest” and variations like “investments,” which clocks in at almost 70 times. Sometimes, grandiose adjectives are added to describe these “investments,” like “historic” or “largest.” When politicians say “invest,” it’s almost always a euphemism for spending more money via taxes and federal debt. Sure enough, that’s the case with Harris’s policy proposals. Other words that politicians euphemistically employ so they don’t have to say “spending” are “support” and “strengthen.” The former (and its variants) clocks in at almost 30 times, the latter more than 20. 

Some words and phrases tellingly don’t make an appearance. Searching for things like “lower spending,” “cutting spending,” and “reduce spending” (and variations of) turns up zero results. 

Interestingly, “spending cuts” make one appearance. On page 9 I found this: 

The Wall Street Journal agrees: ‘Vice President Harris, the Democratic nominee and GOP rival Donald Trump aren’t the same on fiscal policy. She has outlined or endorsed enough fiscal measures—tax increases or spending cuts—to plausibly pay for much of her agenda. He has not.’ 

The footnote shows that the quote comes from a September article written by Wall Street Journal reporter Richard Rubin titled, “Federal Debt Is Soaring. Here’s Why Trump and Harris Aren’t Talking About It.” It’s not exactly a flattering piece on the vice president, and I’m not even sure what spending cuts Rubin is talking about other than proposing to save on Medicare prescription drug costs.

In sum, the word count indicates more spending, more debt, and federal meddling with prices under a Harris administration.
 

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Heritage flips script on fired director of Project 2025 after ‘disconcerting’ revelations surface
next post
Stock Market Regains Bullish Edge: Can Geopolitical Tensions Change Its Direction?

You may also like

Congress Investigates Debanking, Reintroduces (Un)Fair Access

February 11, 2025

Should the US Government Privatize the Post Office?

February 12, 2025

Friday Feature: UrbaNeXt

March 22, 2024

Occupational Licensing Harms Workers in Similar Roles

November 30, 2023

How Garrity v. New Jersey Transformed Public Employee...

September 27, 2023

Four Reasons School Choice Is Good, but Federal...

May 13, 2025

Reviewing the House Budget Committee Tax Options

January 23, 2025

On the Separation of Powers and Judicial Supremacy

June 16, 2025

Who Stopped the Rescue of Silicon Valley Bank?

April 20, 2023

On the Expansion of Executive Power: Addendum

May 20, 2025

Congress Investigates Debanking, Reintroduces (Un)Fair Access

February 11, 2025

Should the US Government Privatize the Post Office?

February 12, 2025

Friday Feature: UrbaNeXt

March 22, 2024

Occupational Licensing Harms Workers in Similar Roles

November 30, 2023

How Garrity v. New Jersey Transformed Public Employee...

September 27, 2023

Four Reasons School Choice Is Good, but Federal...

May 13, 2025

Reviewing the House Budget Committee Tax Options

January 23, 2025

On the Separation of Powers and Judicial Supremacy

June 16, 2025

Who Stopped the Rescue of Silicon Valley Bank?

April 20, 2023

On the Expansion of Executive Power: Addendum

May 20, 2025

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Rep. Steube slams Senate parliamentarian for gutting Trump’s legislative agenda

      June 30, 2025
    • Tillis’ retirement announcement draws reactions from Trump critic Jeff Flake, Bernie Sanders: ‘A cult’

      June 29, 2025
    • SCOOP: House Republican eyes bid for Thom Tillis Senate seat after Trump attack

      June 29, 2025
    • Dem delay tactic ends, debate begins on Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’

      June 29, 2025
    • GOP, Dem senators remain divided over Medicaid after Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ vote

      June 29, 2025
    • The five liberal courts that tied Trump’s hands before SCOTUS clipped their power

      June 29, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,334)
    • Investing (2,081)
    • Politics (15,865)
    • Stocks (3,177)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved