He has brought up before that the US government used to get its revenue from tariffs before income taxes were introduced.
The US is running ginormous deficits but their religion doesn’t allow them to raise taxes. So this might be his least bad option (talking about his internal politics, not the actual economics) to start addressing his deficit.
The executive branch gets revenue from taxes, independent from congress.
The reason for tariffs is to have a source of funding he and his Project 2025 cronies control without oversight. Need to pay wages for the American Sturmabteilung? This is how you do it.
This worked once, way back in the 19th century. It hasn’t worked since.
Not to mention that they got a massive trade war at the time as well, and seriously strained their international relations. But back then, the US was a nobody nation and nobody cared about them, so going from “nobody” to “annoying joe shmoe” wasn’t a problem. Now everybody watches carefully to see how the US rolls over even in its sleep, so every little thing they do on purpose has a huge rippling impact.
They’re not only starting a trade war when nobody has won a trade war in over a century, but they’re destroying a century of built up trust in the meantime, and economies are built on trust. Without trust, who the hell is willing to sign a deal that lasts more than a few months when the norm is to sign decade long deals?
I don’t debate the insanity of the economics of it. I’m saying they have a problem the solution for which is raising taxes but their stupid religion (bootlicking capital) doesn’t allow it, so he’s trying to raise revenue this way.
A guy I watch ran the numbers about it actually, and the results were funny. Basically, presuming that imports and purchasing trends stayed the same, to replace income tax with tariffs, everything being brought in would have to get a near 100% tariff to cover the difference.
Basically have to double the cost of living in order to cover the lost income from getting rid of income tax.
He has brought up before that the US government used to get its revenue from tariffs before income taxes were introduced.
The US is running ginormous deficits but their religion doesn’t allow them to raise taxes. So this might be his least bad option (talking about his internal politics, not the actual economics) to start addressing his deficit.
The executive branch gets revenue from taxes, independent from congress.
The reason for tariffs is to have a source of funding he and his Project 2025 cronies control without oversight. Need to pay wages for the American Sturmabteilung? This is how you do it.
This worked once, way back in the 19th century. It hasn’t worked since.
Not to mention that they got a massive trade war at the time as well, and seriously strained their international relations. But back then, the US was a nobody nation and nobody cared about them, so going from “nobody” to “annoying joe shmoe” wasn’t a problem. Now everybody watches carefully to see how the US rolls over even in its sleep, so every little thing they do on purpose has a huge rippling impact.
They’re not only starting a trade war when nobody has won a trade war in over a century, but they’re destroying a century of built up trust in the meantime, and economies are built on trust. Without trust, who the hell is willing to sign a deal that lasts more than a few months when the norm is to sign decade long deals?
I don’t debate the insanity of the economics of it. I’m saying they have a problem the solution for which is raising taxes but their stupid religion (bootlicking capital) doesn’t allow it, so he’s trying to raise revenue this way.
A guy I watch ran the numbers about it actually, and the results were funny. Basically, presuming that imports and purchasing trends stayed the same, to replace income tax with tariffs, everything being brought in would have to get a near 100% tariff to cover the difference.
Basically have to double the cost of living in order to cover the lost income from getting rid of income tax.