The CEO of Goya Foods has criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’ economic proposals, saying the government has “no business” controlling food prices.
Bob Unanue, head of the largest Latino-owned U.S. food company, said her proposals would put supermarkets out of business.
On Friday, Harris delivered her first policy speech as the Democratic presidential candidate, in which she pledged to create an “opportunity economy.”
This included a federal ban on food price gouging, which is when retailers significantly increase the price of essential products — usually to take advantage of an unfavorable situation like the Covid-19 pandemic.
But Unanue told Fox News that the proposals were the “final nails in the coffin of this economy and this country.” From day one, the Biden-Harris administration “started a war” on the middle class, he said.
Bob Unanue, who heads the largest Hispanic-owned U.S. grocery company, said supermarkets would go bankrupt under Harris’ proposals
Unanue, who spoke at the Republican Party convention earlier this year, told the newspaper: “They’re using a nail gun to put the last nails in the coffin of this economy and this country.
“From day one, they have issued executive orders that have set this country on a disastrous path.”
During her speech last week, Harris said food costs have skyrocketed during the pandemic as supply chains ground to a halt and failed.
But while supply chains have improved, prices are still too high, the vice president said.
Unanue told Fox News that problems always arise when government gets in the way of the free market, and that it will not stop inflation.
He said, ‘You know, when I was a kid, you had a lemonade stand and it was 10 cents for a glass, a straw, and the product to get it to the store. And then the government comes along and says, I want you to sell that lemonade for a penny.
“You know, you should just clean up your lemonade stand and go home.”
He added that supermarkets typically make a profit margin of 1 to 2 percent and employ many people.
“We’re going to bankrupt them by controlling prices,” he said.
Former President Donald Trump also criticized the economic plans, claiming that controlling food prices would lead to “rationing, hunger and skyrocketing prices.”
Economists are divided over the potential impact of Harris’ proposals.
Some argue that the measures taken to combat predatory pricing may actually make the problem worse.
On Friday, Harris delivered her first policy speech as the Democratic presidential candidate, in which she pledged to create an “opportunity economy.”
Gavin Roberts, chair of the Weber State University economics department, said CNN that when prices are high, the best policy is to do nothing.
This would lead to consumers who are put off by the high prices of beef, for example, buying another type of meat or an alternative protein source instead.
This then leaves more beef on supermarket shelves for people who want it so badly that they will pay the higher price, he said.
He added that the policy would not make the food industry more competitive.
“It is more likely that we maintain the status quo,” he told the newspaper.
This would ensure that no new competitors enter the market that can profit from the higher profit margins. This competition could lower prices in the long run.
Others, however, welcome the proposals.
Lindsay Owens, executive director of think tank Groundwork Collaborative, told CNN that this would give government agencies more authority to “crack down on bad actors” who charge Americans higher prices.
“It’s good to see this aggressive approach,” she said.