With the economy top of mind for voters, Eye on Politics reporter Jack Fink compares the economic and tax plans proposed by Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Plus, he covers the heated post-abortion debate and the victory of college students who challenged a Tarrant County judge’s proposal to remove early voting sites from their campuses. See all of this and more in the latest episode of Eye on Politics (originally aired September 15, 2024).
A different vision
When it comes to economic planning, Vice President Harris and former President Trump have different visions. Harris wants to increase the business start-up tax deduction from $5,000 to $50,000, provide a $6,000 tax credit for new parents, and provide down payment assistance for first-time home buyers.
Harris would also raise taxes on people making more than $400,000 a year and increase the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. She also reached a deal with former President Donald Trump to repeal the tip tax.
In addition to his plan to repeal the tip tax, former President Trump just added another provision to eliminate taxes on overtime pay. Trump would also extend all personal and corporate tax cuts enacted in 2017. He also wants to repeal Social Security taxes, lift limits on energy production, and reduce government regulation.
A heated debate
The presidential candidates discussed economic plans, border security and abortion during last week’s ABC News presidential debate. Jack analyzed parts of the debate with Republican Michael Williams, former Texas Railroad Commissioner and former Texas Education Commissioner, and Democrat Kim Olson, a former U.S. Air Force colonel with 25 years of combat experience. Olson has also run for Congress and Texas Agriculture Commissioner. Their responses were as passionate as the debate itself.
Check out Jack’s conversation with Olson and Williams:
The battle for early voting
Tarrant County college students declared victory last week after a majority of county commissioners sided with the students and voted against County Judge Tim O’Hare’s proposal to remove early voting sites from college campuses.
Read Amelia Mugavero’s story here:
Voting: High turnover among Texas election officials since 2020 election
A CBS News investigation has found that Texas has seen high turnover among those who oversee elections in the state’s 254 counties since the 2020 election, with more than a third of election officials and county clerks new to the job as the 2024 election approaches.
“Election officials and administration have faced increased scrutiny, intimidation and harassment, and growing hostility may be contributing to the recent rise in turnover rates,” a Bipartisan Policy Center report released in April said.
The center found that as of January, turnover among Texas county election officials was 41%, meaning that more than a third of those who held the positions in 2020 were new to the job.
A CBS News analysis of the OSET Institute survey found that since 2020, 77 of the state’s 254 counties are no longer without at least one elections official or county clerk running elections.
At least 13 Texas counties have lost one or more election officials or county clerks.
“I think it’s going to be a stressful season after the 2020 election. There’s a lot of pressure and the atmosphere and social media can be very difficult,” Dallas County Elections Supervisor Hyder Garcia told CBS News Texas.
Check out Jack’s story on ballot management here: