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Harris touts her work on the economy, but what has she actually done for small businesses?

Harris touts her work on the economy, but what has she actually done for small businesses?

As Election Day creeps closer, Vice President Kamala Harris has sought to define herself as a champion of small businesses, which she has called “the engines of our economy.” However, does the vice president’s record match her rhetoric? Voters who rank the economy as their top issue in this election do not seem to think so. The Harris-Walz campaign has lagged behind rival former President Donald Trump, who, as of Oct. 1, held a nine percentage point lead over Harris in trust on this issue, according to the Fox News Power Rankings.  To undercut Trump, Harris has proposed a wide range of policies to boost small businesses, with an ambitious goal of 25 million new business applications by the end of her first term, should she be elected president. She hopes to outpace the 15 million applications filed during Trump’s first term. Harris has pledged to give startup businesses a $50,000 tax deduction and steer venture capital toward local entrepreneurs in rural parts of the country to meet that goal.  “I believe America’s small businesses are an essential foundation to our entire economy,” Harris said at a Sept. 4 rally in North Hampton, New Hampshire, where she outlined her vision for an “opportunity economy.”  JAMES CARVILLE ADMITS HE’S ‘SCARED TO DEATH’ ABOUT ELECTION DAY Her proposals include low and no-interest loans to small businesses, simplifying how businesses can file taxes, increasing the number of federal contracts with small businesses and increasing taxes on “billionaires and big corporations” to fund these programs. Harris’ tax deduction plan has won praise from some economists, including Nicholas Creel, an assistant professor of Business Law at Georgia College and State University, who called it “potentially transformational.”  Creel told Fox News Digital her plan would help people “justify the risky prospect of starting a new business and making sure more of those new businesses survive.”  Other supporters point to Harris’ work as vice president and senator to boost minority-owned businesses in poorer communities.  “As Vice President, Harris established the Economic Opportunity Coalition, an unprecedented public–private partnership that has poured billions of dollars of critical investment into historically underserved communities. As Senator, she secured a transformative $12 billion for Community Development Financial Institutions and other community lenders, providing capital to small businesses around the country, including to rural communities,” said Lindi Li, a Democratic strategist and member of the Harriz-Walz National Finance Committee.  Li’s family owns commercial and residential real estate in Pennsylvania. “My family and I run a small business ourselves and the Biden-Harris administration has been incredibly supportive, always extending a listening ear,” she told Fox News Digital.  ‘WE BELIEVE IN DONALD TRUMP’: MORE THAN A DOZEN MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS ENDORSE FORMER PRESIDENT Hundreds of venture capital investors have signed on to the Harris economic agenda as well.  “VP Harris’ support for small businesses and startups is genuine and began long before this campaign,” said Gayle Jennings O’Byrne, CEO of Wocstar Capital. “I had the opportunity to speak with her earlier this year when she came to North Carolina to announce $32 million in investments into women and minority-led venture capital funds, including mine. Over 825 of the nation’s top venture capitalists, myself included, believe in her commitment so strongly that we publicly signed a pledge titled ‘VCs for Kamala.’” Republicans are predictably far less optimistic about Harris’ plans. Critics point to high inflation under the Biden-Harris administration, brought about by excessive government spending during the COVID-19 pandemic, as harmful for existing businesses.  “Vice President Kamala Harris has certainly positioned herself as an advocate for small businesses, with notable initiatives like increasing the startup tax deduction and focusing on underserved communities. However, the reality on the ground tells a more complicated story,” said Ryan Waite, a Republican political consultant.  Waite argued the Biden-Harris record has exacerbated inflationary pressures and undermines any support for small businesses Harris aims to provide. Year-over-year price increases peaked at 9.1% in June 2022, though inflation has since fallen to around 3% – still above the Federal Reserve’s target 2% rate.  “Entrepreneurs need more than just access to capital. They need a stable economic foundation to thrive. So far, the administration has fallen short in addressing these immediate concerns, and many small businesses aren’t seeing the benefits of these policies as quickly as VP Harris would have us believe.” The Harris-Walz campaign and White House did not respond to requests for comment.  Harris’ campaign website claims she was a strong advocate for small businesses as both a U.S. senator and later as vice president. She was California’s junior senator from 2017-2021, when Trump occupied the White House, during which time she opposed the GOP economic agenda.   Harris voted against the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which slashed corporate taxes and provided tax relief for small businesses with the Qualified Business Income Deduction, in addition to changes in individual tax deductions and the family tax credit, which affects the economy overall. As one of the more liberal members of the Senate, Harris co-sponsored the Raise the Wage Act of 2019. Introduced by self-described democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the bill would have increased the federal minimum wage to $15. Republicans opposed the effort, arguing it would increase costs on businesses that rely on low-skill or entry-level labor. It passed the House but died in the Senate. TRUMP, HARRIS LOCKED IN DEAD HEAT IN 7 BATTLEGROUND STATES, POLL FINDS: ‘COULD NOT BE CLOSER’ On a more bipartisan note, Harris voted for the CARES Act of 2020, a $2 trillion coronavirus relief package that created the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan initiatives to help small businesses survive COVID lockdown mandates. The final bill passed nearly unanimously, 96-0-4. Later that year, Harris secured passage of the Jobs and Neighborhood Investment Act, which was included in the COVID-related stimulus package passed in December 2020. The legislation provided $12 billion to community development financial institutions (CDFIs), which direct capital to businesses in minority and low- and moderate-income communities.  Harris also

Trump resoundingly endorses Texas Sen. Ted Cruz ahead of Tuesday night Senate debate

Trump resoundingly endorses Texas Sen. Ted Cruz ahead of Tuesday night Senate debate

Former President Donald Trump issued a full-throated endorsement of incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) on Truth Social. “While I have Endorsed Ted, on numerous occasions, verbally, because of the Importance of the Race, and Ted’s Importance to the future of our Country, I thought the Endorsement should be memorialized in writing,” Trump declared in a post. Cruz — who has served in the Senate since 2013 and is currently seeking a third term — is facing off in the 2024 Texas U.S. Senate race against Democratic challenger Rep. Colin Allred, who has served in the House since 2019. CRUZ RACE NOW A TOSS-UP SHOULD BE WARNING FOR TEXAS GOP, SAYS EXPERT The two men are slated to debate on Tuesday night. “Ted is one of the strongest Senators in the Country on Border Security, whereas his Opponent, Colin Allred, is a Radical Open Border Extremist, who will put our Country, and Safety, LAST. Ted, on the other hand, will ALWAYS put Texas, and America, FIRST,” Trump said in another post on Truth Social. “Ted Cruz has my Complete and Total Endorsement – HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!” “Thank you!! Vote Trump! Vote Cruz!” the Lone Star State senator tweeted in response to Trump’s messages. TED CRUZ WARNS TEXAS SENATE RACE IS ‘INCREDIBLY CLOSE’ Cruz endorsed Trump back in January on the heels of the former president’s decisive win in the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses. Former President Barack Obama has urged voters to back Allred’s Senate bid. ‘AGAINST OUR DAUGHTERS’: CRUZ CHALLENGER HIT WITH BLISTERING 7-FIGURE AD OVER TRANSGENDER SPORTS BILL VOTE Texas has been a reliably red state in presidential contests for decades. Jimmy Carter’s 1976 win there marked the last time a Democratic presidential candidate won the Lone Star State.

‘Squad’ member calls Netanyahu a ‘genocidal maniac,’ sparking backlash from Israeli ambassador to the UN

‘Squad’ member calls Netanyahu a ‘genocidal maniac,’ sparking backlash from Israeli ambassador to the UN

Democrat ‘Squad’ member Rashida Tlaib is now calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “genocidal maniac,” prompting a sharp rebuke from the country’s ambassador to the United Nations.  “Genocidal maniac Netanyahu is burning Palestinians alive, bombing hospitals, starving people, and killing aid workers,” the Michigan representative wrote Monday night in a post on X.  “When will our country stop funding this madness? When?” she added.  Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon responded to her by writing “The only ones who burned children alive were your buddies over at Hamas.”  ISRAELI FORCES SEIZE DOCUMENTS THAT REVEAL HAMAS PLAN FOR MORE ELABORATE ATTACKS: REPORT  Tlaib is one of Netanyahu’s fiercest critics in Washington.  Last week, she wrote on X “The war crimes being committed by the government of Israel are being funded by our own country while families at home suffer from displacement due to hurricanes and growing poverty. Our country is obsessed with war and destruction.”  When the Israeli prime minister delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress in July, she silently protested for much of it, holding up a double-sided sign that read “guilty of genocide” on one side and “war criminal” on the other.  ISRAEL REVEALS HEZBOLLAH SPECIAL FORCES TERRORIST ‘BUNKER’ LOCATED UNDER HOME WITH WEAPONS, MOTORCYCLES  Fox News Digital observed a member of the House sergeant-at-arms’ staff speaking to Tlaib multiple times during the speech, after which she put the sign down.  Prior to Netanyahu’s July 24 address, Tlaib released a statement saying “Netanyahu is a war criminal committing genocide against the Palestinian people.   “It is utterly disgraceful that leaders from both parties have invited him to address Congress. He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court,” she said at the time.  Fox News’ Alexander Hall contributed to this report. 

Harris holds big advantage among early voters, Trump with Election Day voters: poll

Harris holds big advantage among early voters, Trump with Election Day voters: poll

With three weeks to go until Election Day, Americans are already showing a strong partisan preference for how they vote, according to a new public opinion poll. The NBC News poll found that 5% of registered voters said they have already cast their ballots in the 2024 presidential election. Three percent of voters said they mailed their ballot while 2% voted early in person. Nearly half of survey respondents who have not yet voted, 47%, said they plan to vote early – 20% intend to vote by mail and 27% want to vote in person. Of those early voters, Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, holds a commanding 17 percentage point lead over her rival, former President Trump, 57% to 40%. Harris leads among those voting by mail 66% to 32%, with a narrower lead among those who intend to vote early in person, 51% to 47%. TRIO OF NEW POLLS AGREE ON WHERE TRUMP AND HARRIS STAND WITH 3 WEEKS TO GO UNTIL ELECTION DAY But Trump, the Republican candidate, has a strong lead among those who intend to vote on Election Day, 58%-37%.  The survey found that 52% of voters said they plan to cast their ballots early, while 44% plan to vote on Nov. 5. Another 3% said they aren’t sure how they will vote, while 1% said they won’t vote. WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLS IN THE 2024 ELECTION SHOW The NBC News poll of 1,000 registered voters was conducted Oct. 4-8 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. To date, 46 states and Washington, D.C. have begun some form of early voting.  CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION States have long allowed at least some Americans to vote early, like members of the military or people with illnesses. Many states expanded eligibility in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic made it riskier to vote in-person. That year, the Fox News Voter Analysis found that 71% of voters cast their ballots before Election Day, with 30% voting early in-person and 41% voting by mail. Early voting remained popular in the midterms, with 57% of voters casting a ballot before Election Day. Elections officials stress that voting early is safe and secure. Recounts, investigations and lawsuits filed after the 2020 election did not reveal evidence of widespread fraud or corruption.  Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom, Kellianne Jones and Rémy Numa contributed to this report.  Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Navratri: Becoming a white powder carnival

Navratri: Becoming a white powder carnival

India has seen a growing influx of cocaine recently. On June 27, 2024, Chennai Airport customs officials intercepted 2.2 kilograms of high-quality cocaine from a woman who had smuggled it from Nigeria via Doha, concealing the drugs in a hidden compartment in her shoe heels.