It’s easy to characterize Kamala Harris’s economic policies as left-wing, as Donald Trump did when he denounced her “Soviet-style” proposal for price controls on groceries. Her ideas on housing are more difficult to label but risk setting an equally bad precedent. They reflect an increasing desire among the populist left and right to federalize policy despite increasing public distrust in federal institutions.
At an Aug. 16 rally in North Carolina, Ms. Harris told the crowd, “As president, I will work in partnership with industry to build the housing we need, both to rent and to buy. We will take down barriers and cut red tape, including at the state and local levels.”
