What Mark Cuban wants to see from Kamal Harris’ business policies

Harris met with corporate executives behind the scenes just months before replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket, The New York Times reported in July. Her campaign allies privately courted business leaders during the Democratic National Convention this week to make the case for why the VP could be fruitful for Corporate America, CNBC reported Wednesday.

Harris presented herself as pro-business who promises to make things easier for new entrepreneurs by cutting “red tape and unnecessary red tape.” While courting and gaining support from unions.

However, the vice president did not release a detailed economic plan. Critics have said the proposals floated so far on price-gouging bans or subsidies for first-time buyers are light, while policies such as a corporate tax hike are a carryover from the Biden administration.

Broadly speaking, the campaign so far has focused on supporting middle- and low-income Americans, Business Insider’s Laila Maidan reported.

A spokesman for the Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Cuban has already voiced his support for Harris and defended some of his policy proposals. But, he added in an email to BI, “hells in the details.”

Here are some points Cuban shared with us about the qualities and policy approaches Harris thinks he’d like to see in other CEOs.

“He is not an ideologue”

Cuban told BI in an email that he is looking for a candidate who is “not an ideologue,” a perhaps not-so-subtle attack on Harris’ Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, who has been described as repeated as such by his critics.

The billionaire added that he wanted someone “pragmatic and open-minded. All this is her.”

Self awareness

Another quality Cuban said she sees in Harris that sets her apart from Trump is her self-awareness — and that will help her when she tries to woo business leaders, Cuban wrote.

“One of the things that makes KH different from the Republican candidate is that she is self-aware,” he wrote. “She knows what’s not and is willing to listen to business(es), from the smallest corner yogurt shop to the giants of the industry.”

Support for employees

Cuban argued that Harris is a pro-business candidate who wants to support companies and businesses while lifting up their employees.

“She wants all businesses to succeed,” Cuban wrote. “She just wants their employees to share in their success. Which I don’t think any entrepreneur or CEO will disagree with.”

Clarity on crypto

As a cryptocurrency investor himself, Cuban told BI in a separate conversation that he was interested in Harris’ argument for “regulatory clarity” around the digital asset industry.

Brian Nelson, a political adviser to the Harris campaign, told a Bloomberg News roundtable on Wednesday that the vice president will support the crypto market in a way that allows it to flourish while providing safeguards.

“She will support policies that ensure that emerging technologies and this type of industry can continue to grow,” Nelson said during the conversation, acknowledging the need for “stable rules, rules of the road.”

Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad told X that he had participated in “a number of discussions with the Harris team” and that Nelson’s statement was a “second step in the right direction.”

Transparency in healthcare

This point may be more specific to people like Cuban, who has championed lower drug costs through his discount pill delivery service, Cost Plus Drugs.

But the billionaire told BI he appreciates Harris “talking about transparency in health care.”

While laying out his economic agenda at an Aug. 16 rally, Harris promised to lower the cost of prescription drugs, “demand transparency” in drug pricing and eliminate medical debt for millions of Americans.

“Of course, the devil is in the details,” Cuban added. “But so far, I like what I’ve heard.”

Are you a CEO or business owner undecided about the 2024 election? Contact Lloyd Lee at (646) 768-1630 or send an email to [email protected] for his signal number.