The fiscally illiterate Trump's dumbest idea: "Tariffs will pay off our debt"

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Trump’s worst idea yet

On Wednesday, Trump took to his misnomered website, Truth Social, to once again lie to his cult. He posted his prognosis for America’s fiscal future. He claimed that returning to the pre-income tax era and relying on tariffs for federal revenue was a winning idea.

“The tariffs, and Tariffs alone, created this vast wealth for our Country. Then we switched over to Income Tax. We were never so wealthy as during this period. Tariffs will pay off our debt and, MAKE AMERICA WEALTHY AGAIN

-snip-

There are two problems with Trump’s chest-beating. One factual. The other philosophical. Let’s start by looking at the numbers and ask ‘Does this work on paper?’ Will going back to tariff-based revenues and deep-sixing income tax reduce the debt?

Trump has floated the idea of a 25% tariff on all imports from our three largest trading partners, Canada, Mexico, and China. For the sake of argument let’s say he imposes the same 25% tariff on all America’s imports — which in 2023 amounted to $3.83 trillion. Ceteris paribus this would raise $985 billion in revenue (3.83T x 0.25) — I’ll round that to $1T for convenience.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/1/2/2294755/-The-fiscally-illiterate-Trump-s-dumbest-idea-Tariffs-will-pay-off-our-debt

[tanyev]

1. He keeps using that word. I don't think it means what he thinks it means.

[underpants]

4. So (supposedly) we won't pay taxes we'll still pay but it will be tariffs

I saw several posts on Twitter already with the same basic message of support. Like no one had ever thought of doing that again ….and it was immediately rejected.

BTW - it was “Uncle Milty” Milton Friedman who came up with the idea of automatically deducting it from paychecks. Before that it was up to the person to save during the year. Self employed still have to file and pay at least quarterly.

[Irish_Dem]

2. The debt incurred by tax cuts to the rich.

Americans pay off that debt by paying higher prices on goods.

[surfered]

3. Rex Tillerson realized this early on: Trump is an f*****g moron.

[brush]

5. Fasten eat belts, pls. Popcorn if you can stand to look. I'll have several stiff belts of my go-to beverage.

[keithbvadu2]

6. A tariff is a tax and an inflation builder.

[Liberal In Texas]

7. Tariffs led to the Republican Great Depresson. I guess he wants to be another Hoover.

The Tariff Act of 1930 (codified at 19 U.S.C. ch. 4), commonly known as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff or Hawley–Smoot Tariff,[1] was a law that implemented protectionist trade policies in the United States. Sponsored by Senator Reed Smoot and Representative Willis C. Hawley, it was signed by President Herbert Hoover on June 17, 1930. The act raised US tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods.[2]

The tariffs under the act, excluding duty-free imports, were the second highest in United States history, exceeded by only the Tariff of 1828.[3] The Act prompted retaliatory tariffs by many other countries.[4] The Act and tariffs imposed by America's trading partners in retaliation were major factors of the reduction of American exports and imports by 67% during the Great Depression.[5] Economists and economic historians have a consensus view that the passage of the Smoot–Hawley Tariff worsened the effects of the Great Depression.[6] - Wikipedia

[ThoughtCriminal]

8. republicans are REALLY BAD at math

It's actually a requirement.