# Kamala Harris in North Hampton, New Hampshire | September 3, 2024 Auto-transcribed by https://aliceapp.ai on Thursday, 05 Sep 2024. Synced media and text playback available on this page: https://aliceapp.ai/recordings/T9U1tayNpFB6kbQG8LKY4zR5ePflmSEd * Words : 3,169 * Duration : 00:25:52 * Recorded on : Unknown date * Uploaded on : 2024-09-05 00:52:59 UTC * At : Unknown location * Using : Uploaded to aliceapp.ai ## Speakers: * Kamala Harris - 100.0% ---------------------------- Kamala Harris [00:00:01] Hi, everyone. Hi. Good afternoon, Northampton. Kamala Harris [00:00:11] Oh, my goodness. Can we hear it from Nicole? And throw back brewing. Kamala Harris [00:00:27] Hi, guys. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Wow. Kamala Harris [00:00:31] Thank you all. Uh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Kamala Harris [00:00:35] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It's so good to be back in New Hampshire. Thank you all. Kamala Harris [00:00:42] Thank you. And Doug sends his love to everyone as well. Kamala Harris [00:00:51] Oh, thank you, everyone. Nicole, thank you. You guys are just so extraordinary. And I applaud the way you do the business that you do and the love that you do in giving community. I love our small business owners. Kamala Harris [00:01:04] It is what you do. I'm, um, going to talk a bit about you in a minute. But you are part of the fabric, the essential fabric of a community that cares about one another. Thank you for everything. Thank you. Kamala Harris [00:01:17] Thank you. And thank you to the outstanding congressional delegation, Senator Shaheen Hasson, representatives Pappas and Custer, and all the leaders who are here today. Thank you all. Thank you all for taking the time to be here this afternoon. Thank you, everyone. Kamala Harris [00:01:41] Thank you. Kamala Harris [00:01:46] So, before I begin, I do want to say a few words about this tragic shooting that took place, uh, this morning in winder, Georgia. Um, we're still gathering information about what happened, but we know that there were multiple fatalities and injuries. And, um, you know, our hearts are with all the students, the teachers and their families, of course. And we are grateful to the first responders in the law enforcement that were on the scene. But this is just a senseless tragedy on top of so many senseless tragedies. Kamala Harris [00:02:21] And it's just outrageous that every day in our country, in the United States of America, that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive. It's senseless. It is. We've got to stop it. And we have to end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all. Kamala Harris [00:02:46] You know, it doesn't have to be this way. It doesn't have to be this way. So we will continue, of course, to send our prayers and our thoughts to the families and all those who were affected, including, you know, I'm going off script right now, but listen, I mean, you know, last year, um, I started a college tour. And, um, I traveled our country, meeting with our young leaders, right? And so it was college age young leaders. Kamala Harris [00:03:17] So I did trade schools, colleges, universities, community colleges. By the way, I love Gen. Z. I just love Gen. Z. Kamala Harris [00:03:24] Right? Kamala Harris [00:03:27] But I'll tell you, one of the things. One of the things that I asked every time I went to the auditorium and it would be filled with these young leaders, students. And I'd ask them, raise your hand if at any point between kindergarten and 12th grade, you had to endure an act of shooting drill. And for the young leaders who are here, who are raising their hand, I'm telling you, every time the auditorium was packed and almost every hand went up, you know, a lot of us. I'll speak about myself. Kamala Harris [00:03:56] You know, we had, uh. Well, I grew up in California. Earthquake drills. We had fire drills. But our kids are sitting in a classroom where they should be fulfilling their God given potential, and some part of their big, beautiful brain is concerned about a shooter busting through the door of the classroom. Kamala Harris [00:04:18] It does not have to be this way. Kamala Harris [00:04:23] It does not have to be this way. Kamala Harris [00:04:28] And, you know, this is one of the many issues that's at stake in this election. So, New Hampshire, we have 62 days to go. 62 days to go. And I'm going to tell you what you already know. This race is going to be tight until the very end. Kamala Harris [00:04:46] So please, let's not pay too much attention to the polls, because we are running as the underdog. We know what they're capable of on the other side. The only thing we can take for granted is the love that we, as Americans have for each other, knowing we have so much more common than what separates us. Um, and we've got some hard work ahead, but we like hard work. Hard work is good work. Kamala Harris [00:05:22] Hard work can be joyful work. And so we are up for the task. And with your help, we will win in November. We will win in November. Kamala Harris [00:05:36] And that, in large part, is because we know what we stand for. And when you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for. Kamala Harris [00:05:48] We love our country, and we believe in the promise of America. That's so much of what I think brings us all together this afternoon. We believe in the promise of America, and that includes a topic we're going to discuss today, which is what I call an opportunity economy. Building an opportunity economy. Kamala Harris [00:06:14] And my vision of an opportunity economy is one where everyone can compete and have a real chance to succeed, where everyone, regardless of who they are, where they start, can build wealth, including intergenerational wealth, where workers are treated with dignity, and everyone has the freedom to join a union if they choose. Kamala Harris [00:06:39] Where we remove barriers to opportunity. So anyone who wants to start a business can have access to the tools and the resources they need to do that. I believe, and I said it before to Nicole, I believe America's small businesses are an essential foundation to our entire economy. Think about it. Think about it. Kamala Harris [00:07:05] Small businesses in our country employ half of all private sector workers. Half of all private sector workers own or run a small business, or work for a small business. They do trillions of dollars of business every year. They generate revenue that helps repair our roads and pay our teachers. And, you know, for all of those who are or know of, um, small business owners, the thing I love about you is that you're not only leaders in business, you are civic leaders, you are community leaders, you are mentors. Kamala Harris [00:07:44] You hire locally, you believe in the community, and you're part of the glue of the fabric that holds communities together. You provide the local meeting space. You are the types of folks where you know who your regulars are. And when someone's walking in the door and you can tell they've had a bad day, you know exactly what they need. Isn't that the best of who we are? Kamala Harris [00:08:10] Isn't that the best of who we are? Kamala Harris [00:08:15] And I've met so many entrepreneurs across the country who take the incredible leap of faith that is required to start a small business. Folks who put their life savings on the line and work through the weekends and holidays because they aren't just building a business, they're pursuing a dream. They're building a better future for their employees and for the people they love and their I communities. And by extension, they're building a stronger middle class and a stronger America for us all. Kamala Harris [00:08:56] And so all of this is why, as president, one of my highest priorities will be to strengthen America's small businesses. And here I am, um, in New Hampshire, to announce a few elements of my plan to do that. Kamala Harris [00:09:17] So first, we're going to help more small businesses and innovators get off the ground. Okay? Now I'm setting what some, I'm sure, are going to call a very, um, ambitious goal. But you know what? I think we should admire ambition in each other. Kamala Harris [00:09:35] So I want to see 25 million new small business applications by the end of my first term. Kamala Harris [00:09:47] And to help achieve this, we will lower the cost of starting a new business. So here's the thing. On average, it costs about $40,000 to start a new business in America. That is a great financial barrier for a lot of folks, and it can hold entrepreneurs back. And the current tax deduction for a startup is just $5,000. Kamala Harris [00:10:12] Okay, so then you got to make up the delta there. Got to figure out how you can do that. Not everyone has access to that kind of wealth and capital. So part of my plan is we will expand the tax deduction for startups to $50,000. Kamala Harris [00:10:35] It's essentially a tax cut for starting a small business. Second, my plan will help existing small businesses grow. We will provide low and no interest loans to small businesses that want to expand, and we will, and this is very important, cut the red tape. That can make starting and growing a small business more difficult than it needs to be. More difficult than it needs to be. Kamala Harris [00:11:07] For example, we will make it cheaper and easier for small businesses to file their taxes. Similar. Similar to how individuals can take a standard deduction. You know, I said to my team, kind of like, now I'm going to date myself again because they no longer do it, but kind of like, you remember the 1040 EZ? Like that kind of idea, right? Kamala Harris [00:11:30] Like, let's just take away some of the bureaucracy in the process to make it easier for people to actually do something that's going to benefit our entire economy. 3rd. Kamala Harris [00:11:45] 3rd my plan will invest in small businesses and innovators throughout America. And here's why. We know that talent exists everywhere in our country, from rural towns to city centers. But not everyone has access to the financing to venture capital or expert advice. It's not that they don't have the skills. Kamala Harris [00:12:11] It's not that they don't have the work ethic. It's access to these resources. So under my plan, we will expand access to venture capital. We will support innovation hubs and business incubators, and we will increase federal contracts with small businesses. And we will have a particular focus on small businesses in rural communities, like right here in New Hampshire. Kamala Harris [00:12:47] Finally, my plan will make our tax code more fair, while also prioritizing investment and innovation. So let us be clear. Billionaires and big corporations must pay their fair share in taxes. Kamala Harris [00:13:07] Because here's the thing. Here's the thing. It's just not right that those who can most afford it are often paying a lower tax rate than our teachers and our nurses and our firefighters. It's just not right. It's just not right. Kamala Harris [00:13:26] So that's why I support a billionaire minimum tax and corporations paying their fair share. Kamala Harris [00:13:38] And while we ensure that the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share, we will tax capital gains at a rate that rewards investment in America's innovators, founders, and small businesses. So here's the detail. If you earn a million dollars a year or more, the tax rate on your long term capital gains will be 28% under my plan. Because we know when the government encourages investment, it leads to broad based economic growth and it creates jobs, which makes our economy stronger. Kamala Harris [00:14:19] Now compare that to what Donald Trump plans. Kamala Harris [00:14:26] He intends to cut off federal programs that give loans to small businesses. Kamala Harris [00:14:34] He plans to give billionaires massive tax cuts and to cut corporate taxes by over a trillion dollars, even as they pull in record profits. Kamala Harris [00:14:46] His plans will add more than $5 trillion to the national debt. And that is on top of the $2 trillion tax cut he gave them when he was president and when he exploded the deficit. Kamala Harris [00:15:03] We know how to count. Uh, we know how to count. And now he also wants to impose what, in effect, is a national sales tax on everyday products and basic necessities, which will skyrocket the cost for families and small businesses and New Hampshire. On top of all of this, if Donald Trump were to win in November, he intends to end the Affordable Care act, which would significantly increase costs on small businesses, as we know and well, you know what? The courts are going to handle that and we will handle November. Kamala Harris [00:15:43] How about that? How about that? Kamala Harris [00:15:50] That's how we'll handle that. How about that? Kamala Harris [00:15:55] But think about it. It wants to end the Affordable Care act, taking us back to a time when insurance companies could deny people with pre existing conditions. You remember what that was? Children with asthma, breast cancer survivors, grandparents with diabetes. So, yeah, look, we are here to tell him and theme, um, we are not going back. Kamala Harris [00:16:22] We're not going back. Kamala Harris [00:16:26] We're not going back. We're not going back. Kamala Harris [00:16:36] No, we are not. And we will move forward because ours is a fight for the future and it is a fight for, for freedom. Kamala Harris [00:16:50] And it is a fight for freedom. Now, I don't have to tell the folks of New Hampshire the live free or die state, you know, the importance of individual freedoms, fundamental freedoms, you know, how hard people fought for these freedoms and that they are foundational to who we are and what we stand for as Americans, including the fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government telling her what to do. Kamala Harris [00:17:27] And understand how we got here. Understand how we got here. And of course, we're not going to fall for the gas lighting he's pushing right? When he was president, Donald Trump. Trump hand picked three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Kamala Harris [00:17:47] Wade. And as he intended, they did. And now, in more than 20 states in our nation, there is a Trump abortion ban, many with no exceptions, even for rape and incest, which is immoral. Immoral. And let us agree, and I know we do, one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree. Kamala Harris [00:18:19] The government should not be telling her what to do with her body. Kamala Harris [00:18:37] And if he wins, and if he wins, you can be sure Donald Trump will go further, and he will sign a national abortion ban. And, you know, project 2025, which I just. I mean, can you believe they put that thing in writing? And under project 2025, he would create a national anti abortion coordinator, which would force states. I mean, this is unbelievable, right? Kamala Harris [00:19:11] Which would force states to report on women's miscarriages and abortions. You know what they are making really quite clear? They just don't trust women. They just don't trust women. But we trust women. Kamala Harris [00:19:27] We trust women. Kamala Harris [00:19:31] And when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law. Kamala Harris [00:19:50] Across our nation. Kamala Harris [00:20:01] Across our nation. Across our nation. And I've been traveling for many, many m well, years, actually, and certainly months, most recently across our nation. I'm telling you, we are witnessing a full on attack on hard fought, hard won fundamental freedoms and rights, including the freedom to vote, the freedom to be safe from gun violence, the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water, the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride. Kamala Harris [00:20:42] And so here's what I don't have to tell the folks of New Hampshire, because you know it so well. It's part of your DNA. Generations of Americans before us, uh, they fought for freedom, and they led the fight for freedom in our country. And now the baton is in our hands. The baton is in our hands. Kamala Harris [00:21:06] So let us understand, which we do, our purpose at this very moment. Let us remember the broad shoulders upon which we stand and the traditions of, uh, this very fight that have led to what we have been able to accomplish. And let us understand then that when we say fight, it is a fight for something, not against something. It is for something. Kamala Harris [00:21:41] That's what we're talking about when we talk about a new way forward. This is for something. And so, as an example, let us finally pass the John Lewis Voting Rights act and the Freedom to vote act. Let us finally pass an assault weapons ban and universal background checks and red flag laws, because we are clear on that point. It is a false choice to say you're either in favor of the second amendment or you want to take everyone's guns away. Kamala Harris [00:22:13] I'm in favor of the second amendment, and I know we need reasonable gun safety laws in our country. Kamala Harris [00:22:24] And there's another point that I'd like to stress about this election in 24. This is nothing. 2016 or 2020, the stakes are even higher this time for a number of reasons. But I'm going to mention one in particular. What the Supreme Court recently did when they basically just told the former president that going forward, he will effectively be immune no matter what he does in the White House. Kamala Harris [00:23:02] But let's take this seriously and understand what it means. Before, at least, there might have been the threat that there would be consequence and accountability with that ruling. What this means is that almost explicitly, he has been told, no consequence. And imagine, just imagine, Donald Trump with no guardrails. Just imagine, with no guardrails. Kamala Harris [00:23:28] He has openly vowed to be a dictator. On day one, he has said he would end the independence of the Department of Justice, the United States Department of Justice, so he could have the unchecked power to seek vengeance against people who disagree with him. He even called for, I'm going to quote now, the termination of, uh, the constitution of the United States of America. Kamala Harris [00:23:58] Let us be very clear. Someone who suggests we should terminate the constitution of the United States of America should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States. Kamala Harris [00:24:19] Never again. Kamala Harris [00:24:27] So I'll, uh, end where I started. When it comes down to it, we are all here together because we love our country. We love our country, and we know the privilege, the privilege and pride that comes with being an American. And I do believe it is one of the highest forms of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country. That is how we realize the promise of America. Kamala Harris [00:25:15] And so with that being said, I ask New Hampshire, are you ready to have your voices heard? Do we believe in freedom? Do we believe in opportunity? Do we believe in the promise of America? And are we ready to fight for it? Kamala Harris [00:25:39] And when we fight, we win. God bless you, and God bless the United States for America.