Harris outreach to Black men includes proposals on marijuana, crypto business

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris proposed a suite of economic 
policies Monday aimed at appealing to Black men as the Democratic 
presidential nominee works to shore up a critical voting bloc whose 
support is showing signs of slipping.

Harris' "Opportunity Agenda for Black men" includes offering 1 million 
"fully forgivable" loans to Black business owners and new federal 
regulations for cryptocurrency to protect investors in the digital 
currency.

Harris has also proposed legalizing marijuana nationally for 
recreational use and ensuring Black entrepreneurs have access to the 
growing cannabis industry.

The proposals – unveiled just three weeks before Election Day – come as 
polling shows former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, 
has made inroads with Black men that could swing what's expected to be 
a razor-thin election. Democrats also worry about signs of lagging 
turnout among Black voters even as the country could elect the first 
Black woman president in U.S. history. 

The Harris campaign said, if elected, the vice president will "break 
down unjust legal barriers that hold Black men and other Americans back 
by legalizing marijuana nationally, working with Congress to ensure 
that the safe cultivation, distribution, and possession of recreational 
marijuana is the law of the land."

Harris will "fight to ensure as the national cannabis industry takes 
shape, Black men – who have, for years, been over policed for marijuana 
use – are able to access wealth and jobs in this new market," the 
campaign said in a statement.

The campaign called the policy a "stark contrast with Donald Trump" and 
the Justice Department's approach with marijuana during his presidency. 
President Joe Biden's administration took steps this year to reclassify 
marijuana from a Schedule I – its designation for decades – to a less 
dangerous Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act.

Marijuana is legal for recreational use in 24 states as well as the 
District of Columbia. Trump, a Florida resident, said earlier this year 
that he will vote for a measure in his home state legalizing 
recreational marijuana that's on the ballot this fall.

Harris discussed her economic plan Monday in Erie, Pennsylvania at a 
campaign event at Legenderie Records and Coffee House, a Black-owned 
business, before holding a campaign rally later in the evening.

In recognition of Harris' challenge with Black men, former President 
Barack Obama, the nation's first Black president, called out Black men 
hesitant to support Harris in pointed remarks last Friday, suggesting 
some aren't rallying behind her because she is a woman.

A New York Times/Sienna College poll released over the weekend found 
Harris leading Black voters nationally over Trump by a wide 78%-15% 
margin – yet that's closer than the 2020 election, when Biden won 90% 
of Black voters, while Trump won just 9%, according to post-election 
polls and other assessments. A CBS News/YouGov poll found Harris ahead 
with Black voters by a wider 87%-12%.

"Kamala Harris is in full-blown desperation mode as she spends the 
waning days of the campaign attempting to stop the bleeding among 
voting blocs most traditionally aligned with Democrats," the Trump 
campaign said in a statement on Harris's economic agenda for Black 
voters.

Harris' loan proposal would provide loans fully forgivable up to 
$20,000 to Black entrepreneurs and others "who have a good idea but 
don’t have the resources, connections, or access to capital to get 
their business off the ground, as well as entrepreneurs locating small 
businesses in underserved communities," the campaign said.

The program, which would be administered through a new partnership with 
the Small Business Administration, builds off an earlier Harris 
proposal to increase tax deductions for small businesses from $5,000 to 
$50,000.

Harris' pledge to ensure cryptocurrency investors are "protected" comes 
as more than 20% of Black Americans own or have owned cryptocurrency 
assets, according to the campaign.

Harris' economic agenda also emphasizes expanding education, training 
and mentorship programs for Black men. Areas targeted include: 
investing in more Black male teachers; promoting registered 
apprenticeships and credentialing opportunities in Black communities; 
strengthening Black leadership programs in public schools and 
historically Black colleges and universities; and strengthening the 
federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program to recruit and retain 
Black male teachers.

Harris also wants to launch a health equity initiative focused on Black 
men to address sickle cell disease, diabetes, mental health, prostate 
cancer and other health challenges that disproportionately impact 
African American people, the campaign said.

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Let's go Brandon!

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Democrats and the liberal media hate President Trump more than they 
love this country.