By admin 
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris campaign actively warns business leaders about this Donald Trump has a pattern of contempt for democracy and the rule of law that would pose a threat American economic growth – a closing argument intended to show the potential consequences for companies and workers if he returns to the White House.
It is a position that Trump’s team rejects the proposal because they tell voters that prices will be lower and growth stronger than ever before if he wins Tuesday’s election. A billionaire who made his name in the real estate industry, the former president has advocated higher tariffs to bring more factories to the United States and tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, on the premise that this will lead to more investment.
The rival positions boil down to a fundamental distinction between the two candidates on how to run the world’s largest economy: Harris’ team argues that the rule of law creates the certainty that can allow markets and workers to flourish, while Trump argues that tariff increases and tax cuts are the key to growth.
Gene Sperling, who has guided three Democratic presidents on economic policy and now advises the president Harris campaignhas made what he describes as a “common sense” case to financiers and others about the dangers of a second Trump administration.
“A president who targets people, CEOs, corporations, journalists and opposition, could have a devastating impact on the investment confidence that has been robust over the past four years but has also been part of America’s strength since its founding,” he said. Sperling.
But billionaire hedge fund investor John Paulson, a Trump supporter who sees himself as a possible Treasury secretary, is pushing back against the Harris campaign’s criticism, saying the world was more stable under Trump and inflation was lower.
“It’s completely untrue,” he said of Sperling’s argument that the rule of law is in danger. “When people make these claims, they are completely untrue. They are not based on reality. Trump is a brilliant businessman. He wants to reduce wasteful spending and stimulate growth.”
Trump has derided his opponent’s handling of the economy as “stupid” and claimed the stock market will crash if he loses the election, even though the S&P 500 stock index has risen about 50% under President Trump. Joe Biden ‘s term.
“We will give our companies the lowest taxes, the lowest energy costs, the lowest regulatory burden and free access to the best and largest market in the world,” Trump said Tuesday at a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania. “The problem is that if we had more of these idiots running our country, you wouldn’t have the biggest and best market anymore because we are a country in decline.”
The goal of the Harris team is to connect the January 6, 2021 uprising at the US Capitol with Trump’s history of using the pulpit to attack the Federal Reserve, as well as companies like Amazon, Merck, Comcast, John Deer and Toyota. Their argument is that companies are less likely to make long-term investments if democratic values are attacked and election results are denied.
In addition to Sperling, business leaders have also heard from Robert Rubin, the former Treasury Secretary; Kenneth Chenault, the former CEO of American Express; and Brian Deese, the former director of the National Economic Council for Biden.
One person familiar with the conversations said Harris campaign representatives don’t need to push hard on the issue. Seemingly apolitical CEOs are privately raising the issue as their central concern about a Trump presidency, with the person insisting on anonymity to describe private conversations with corporate executives who want to stay out of the electoral spotlight.
But Vanessa Williamson, a senior fellow in governance at the Brookings Institution, said the Harris campaign has somewhat underestimated the risks given the potential dangers.
“By and large, Americans have managed to take the basic rule of law for granted,” Williamson said. “The kind of rampant cronyism and fraud that is endemic in some other countries is truly unthinkable here – and that is of course a wonderful thing. But it also makes it difficult for people to imagine how important government is for the functioning of markets.”
Both campaigns are vying for corporate support. Trump has billionaire support Elon Muskthe owner of Tesla, SpaceX and X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Billionaires like the founder of Microsoft Bill Gates and billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban support Harris.
Many of the disputes centered on policy differences. Trump has said the higher corporate tax rates favored by Harris would deter investment, while the Harris team has attacked his plans to remove Biden-era incentives for building computer chips, electric vehicles and other advanced factories, because this would cost the country’s factory jobs.
But the argument about the importance of democratic values gained credibility in October after the elections Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics was awarded to three economists, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson, who showed that social institutions and the rule of law are crucial for economic growth.
Acemoglu was one of 23 Nobel Prize-winning economists who signed a letter saying Trump’s economic plans “would lead to higher prices, bigger deficits and greater inequality.”
The letter said: “Among the most important factors for economic success are the rule of law and economic and political security, and Trump threatens all of these.”
The subject has long fascinated Harris, a former California attorney general. Two people who worked in the White House recalled Harris asking for economic research in 2022 to support her own view that the erosion of democratic norms would hurt growth. Those people insisted on anonymity to discuss the request.
Likewise, Biden was the nominee, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients has made it clear to the CEOs of the Business Roundtable that a Trump return to the presidency would generate uncertainty that would hamper growth. It was a pitch that contrasted with Trump proposing additional tax cuts to the group.
Neither the Business Roundtable nor the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have expressed support for the November presidential election. The Business Roundtable has made keeping corporate tax rates at the current rate of 21% its top legislative priority. Trump has promised further cuts in the corporate rate for US manufacturers, while Harris would like to increase this to 28%, an increase that is still lower than the 35% rate that applied until 2017.
The House, meanwhile, has emphasized its willingness to advocate for its business members regardless of which government might be in power.
Business Roundtable CEO Josh Bolten said in a statement this month that the organization supported the peaceful transition of power. So far, Trump has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power after falsely claiming his 2020 loss was the result of a rigged election, a claim that helped encourage the 2021 insurrection.
“It may take some time to finalize the election results, and we urge all Americans to respect the processes established in federal and state laws for election determinations and an orderly transition,” Bolten said.