Governments are in the business of making and spending money just like everybody else. That’s where tariffs come in. Nations control who can buy and sell within their borders by charging tariffs or taxes. In fact the USA has charged tariffs from the beginning of our nation to the extent that we didn’t even have a national income tax until 1913 when the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified. Before that money to fund the government came primarily from tariffs on foreign nations.
Last week President Trump defended his use of “reciprocal tariffs” by showing a list of more than 180 nations and territories and what they charge us to do business in their countries. Mr. Trump used a number of visual aids to compare how much more our trading partners charge us for selling our goods and services than what we charge them for selling their goods and services here.For example one chart showed China charged us 67% to sell our products and services there. Mr. Trump explained we plan to raise our tariffs on China from 34% to 54%. Vietnam has been charging us 90%. The President said he had set a 10% baseline tariff across the board adding, “We will charge them approximately half of what they are and have been charging us.”
Donald Trump has literally been advocating using tariffs to leverage trade deals since the 1980s, long before politics became a new bailiwick for him. Before his run for president Trump enjoyed successfully playing “The Art of the Deal” in his many business endeavors. Negotiating trade deals with other national leaders comes naturally to him.
Here at home Mr. Trump has been universally denounced by the usual detractors on the left and in the media, though I repeat myself. Those on his right flank support him … sort of … with a lot of caveats like, “I’ve seen him win a lot and I won’t bet against him.” They’re voting more for the man than for the policies or the politics.
In the meantime the markets have lost more money than Elon Musk and his merry men ever thought about recouping from all the waste, fraud and abuse inside the federal bureaucracy. Nevertheless, DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) has saved hundreds of billions of dollars for American taxpayers. The young department still has its eyes set on recouping dollars in the trillions.
Detractors of DOGE and Musk claim they are going to destroy Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Congress is on the verge of passing the renewed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act without changing any benefits of these programs. Renewing this Act also keeps everybody’s federal income taxes as low as they’ve been since the bill was originally passed in 2017 and went into effect January 1, 2018.
The Department of Homeland Security has shut the borders tight and attracted dozens of injunctions from Federal District Judges in left-leaning courts. Those judges are just asking for trouble. Seriously, do they really want to tangle with Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi? The injunctions District Judges have filed are more than enough evidence of their shallow jurisprudence. Maybe DOGE should inspect the judiciary branch for waste, fraud and abuse.
President Trump and partners in his administration are taking care of business like none of his predecessors ever dreamed.
Daniel L. Gardner is a columnist who lives in Starkville, MS. You may contact him at PJandMe2@gmail.com.
42 comments:
Trump is doing what every other president should have done. Of course most of the other presidents were into making themselves rich and to hell with the people. We finally have a president who does the job as it should be done. Sure is a surprise for the life long politicians.
The world is abandoning the US dollar.
DL completely misses that governments are " for profit" businesses. The money is supposed to improve the standard of living of the citizens. They are more akin to taxes. What you also don't "get" is that tariffs have never been used before to enrich the President or any member of his cabinet or any appointed member of government or his campaign or his political party in any way. Worse, our tax money is going to paying for his golf trips but to his golf clubs and resorts and to his hotel in D.C. where everyone who visits is expected to stay. GOP hypocrisy is getting pretty hard to take. There's not a single democratic President who wasn't criticized for "too much time golfing" or at a " resort" or "vacation home" and Trump has more than any ever just since being sworn in. It's a fair criticism for Presidents of both parties. Party loyalty should have long ago been seen as a p*** poor basis for electing anybody! It's " the economy stupid" and the moral fiber to be honest! D.L. , stick with something you understand, economics and history aren't your strong suit. You also left out what happens in tariff wars . It's especially "stupid" to go against a person who has been in office of a large country with a large military for over 20 years and can outlast you! And, then there's our dependency on parts for even things we sell China. You cannot rebuild and restart the lost textiles and lost steel mills overnight. Those of us who were concerned when this happened got the usual deafness from those who profit and profit with the sudden " delay" that came back after they got to "sell" as soon as stocks rose. THINK!
Only bitcoin idiots and hype media claim that 10:10. Compared to other major currencies the dollar is exactly where it was five years ago.
That is fine with me. Audit the Fed and arrest those crooks. Convert the national currency into Trump Coin. ive invested in a sizeable reserve .
this is a good article. under tariffs , foreign countries supply the revenue to run the government. its as simple as that . thats what the woke screwballs will never understand.
self sufficiency is the greatest thing a country can have.
go spend a year or so in a place where everything is imported. you will see what i mean real quick.
bitcoin idiots you sound like a jealous no-coinz boomer who missed out every crypto boom since 2012.
The US Government isn't supposed to levy tariffs on foreign businesses doing business in America. It's only permissible for the rest of the world's governments to levy tariffs on American businesses doing business in their countries. This is settled international law and a commonly known business custom and tradition.
Sen Schumer, thanks for checking in.
Look, If I want to shop at Costco;. Do do so, I pay Costco a "tariff" of sixty bucks a year. Every country MUST trade with the US; charge them to play in our unique world markets. Common sense
"it's as simple as that"
When you can't spot the mark at the poker table...
This Op-Ed is already dated. Trump has exempted tech stuff (smart phones, computers, notebooks, etc.) from the tariff increase.
Neither Trump nor his mindless followers can articulate a strategic purpose for blanket tariffs on our closest allies. While Trump has suspended most of those tariffs for 90 days, uncertainty still persists. Trump claims his goal is to correct the trade imbalance with China. If that is true, and who knows if that is the case (Trump lies frequently and effortlessly), Trump should have enlisted our allies to join us in maximizing economic pressure on China. Trump is a loose cannon with no understanding of economics or diplomacy. He is the greatest threat to the Republic since WWII.
Where are you getting your news? To Trump, China is not any different than any other country. He wants to have equal tariffs with every country. That seems fair to me. Why do you think we should pay tariffs while they do not pay us tariffs? China is just a little stubborn. They will decide after a while to change their thinking.
If you think Trump has been good for the American economy then you have no understanding of the US bond market. LOL goodluck.
Headline: D.L. Gardner: Trump Taking Care of Bidness
The only thing DL gets right is using the word bidness.
This country can not be run on the whim of any one person. Our government is designed with legal preventative measures against that. President Trump appears to act on his whim of the day. It’s all a game for him to win in his way of thinking. He said as a candidate, on day one he’ll get prices down. Didn’t do it, now with his tariff war, prices on most items wii go up!! Hopefully our government laws will rein him in , as many American citizens are suffering financially already. I understand wanting to improve or MAGA, but not at the expense of everyday hard working people just trying to survive.
I can articulate it for you. When a country puts tariffs on our goods, subsidizes their own industries, and then takes aid from us, then the US taxpayer is paying more far more already than the tariffs Trump is imposing. Our government is near bankruptcy. While you were ignoring Trump and Elon prior to the election, they were articulating just how bad the situation has become. Ron and Rand Paul have been doing the same for years. Quite simply, we can’t afford to subsidize their world any longer. World War 2 has been over for a long time. China violates the sovereignty of every single one of their neighbors.
Americans can’t really afford to keep buying Chinese garbage on credit anyway. This is the best time to impose 250% tariffs on China. The collapse of Evergrande was an eye opener to how fragile their economy has become. Let’s see how long before the near riots and bank runs return in China.
I see you didn't take the advice to lay off of the mushroom tea before you posted. From the looks of that Kamala word salad, it must be really strong.
You really miss ole sleepy Joe, don't you?
Trump is just having fun. He had fun in the business world. See if an idea will fly and if it does fly he makes millions, if it does not, declare bankruptcy and move on to the next idea. He's done it before. He now has a whole country's money to play with, and if he blows it, big deal, it's not his money. The fun of the business world is gambling with other people's money. Trump is having a ball. He's even got cheerleaders.
China is Trump’s huckleberry….he’s boxed himself into a corner and China will not blink ! For China, Trump is a small blip on their 100 year radar…..insignificant!
DOGE needs to look at the cost to taxpayers cost to fly Trumps’ entourage on Air Force One to Mara Largo each weekend! What say you Elon?
Home mortgages are now over 7%. If China pulls its U.S. Bonds, look for mortgages to go to 9% or even 10%
The upheaval in stocks has been grabbing all the headlines, but there is a bigger problem looming in another corner of the financial markets that rarely gets headlines: Investors are dumping U.S. government bonds. Let that sink in, Trump is doing his best to destroy the faith and confidence in the U.S. Taxes on Us isn’t building a stronger country , it’s destroying it.
Trump becomes president and the lefties all become economists. But they were quiet during the Biden regime with all his economic failures and definitely with BRICS. Always have to laugh at their hypocrisy.
Destruction of the USD is the plan. Here it is from Stephan Miran, Trump's Economic advisor:
A User’s Guide to Restructuring
the Global Trading System
https://www.hudsonbaycapital.com/documents/FG/hudsonbay/research/638199_A_Users_Guide_to_Restructuring_the_Global_Trading_System.pdf
Conservative here....you actually made a valid point in your blu bla blu bla blu bla word salad.
"And, then there's our dependency on parts for even things we sell China. You cannot rebuild and restart the lost textiles and lost steel mills overnight."
These are accurate statements, and at the root of what must change. Americans must stop their dependency on cheap, material bullshit and learn to "use it up, wear it our, make do, or do without. Americans do need to find a fire in their belly again, and get back to work building things - but some may not survive the ride back to this sanity.
D.L. no other American President imposed a tariff on countries with whom we didn't trade at all or that charged us no tariffs. Trump did. That should scare everyone.
No President can know everything about everything nor can any genius. You have to have knowledge in the subject and experience and most Presidents appoint those in their administration for knowledge and experience, not loyalty. So, there was no one to point out the errors on the " big, beautiful" poster. He should fire them!
The sell off of our bonds was even more frightening. In all the world, it's been the safest investment because our bonds are backed by" the full faith and credit of the U.S. government".
We'd all like to be more economically self-sufficient and bring back industries we lost, but that will take almost as long as it took to lose those industries. Trump didn't think before he acted and there was either no one brave enough to warn him or who knew it was a mistake.
MAGA truly is a cult.
You must be too young to remember when many home loans grew to the teens in interest. When adjustable loans came into being. Guess who was president? The #2 worst president.
I, along with many others, understand that Trump is doing his best to keep this debt ridden country from going belly up.
He's trying to save the country, while you, and every other Wall Street vulture, is trying to squeeze the last dollar from the nearly dead husk.
"many American citizens are suffering financially already", yes, we can thank whoever was running the country for the last four years.
With the U.S. dollar losing much of its buying power, because of the none stop printing of money, the American citizen has been left with little excess money.
Only an idiot, or someone blinded by party loyalty, would try to place the blame on Trump.
"D.L. no other American President imposed a tariff on countries with whom we didn't trade at all or that charged us no tariffs", name those countries for us.
The only thing more ignorant than a liberal, is a liberal convinced they are an economist.
@2:03 PM - Well said. The truth hurts because it should.
Except that his ridiculous chart had nothing to do with tarrifs. He misused a formula that effectively broke down to Exports-Imports/Imports that provides a number on the trade deficit with any individual country. Then when the DOW crashed and outher countries started selling treasury bonds and the dollar weakened, he pulled them all back.
There is no real strategy or thought behind any of this and the sheep are just letting him cook while our 401Ks are ravaged.
@2:08 - what do you make of used car salesmen pretending to be president and making up foreign policy over a McFish and fries?
Donald Trump may identify as a successful businessman, but in reality he’s a dumbass that bankrupted multiple casinos, reads at a 4th grade level, and who rose to power through lies only the most idiotic of us could believe. You can’t fix stupid. Our younger generations will hate us for the damage Donald has done and he’s still got years left to dig the hole so deep we can never escape. Donald is the std you thought stayed in Vegas because you actually believed those stupid commercials.
Yet, Trump is still your president. You should find something more productive to do then come on this message board, and post your chicken droppings.
I understand your jealousy of Trump will not let you pass up an attempt to, in your small way, attack the man you are jealous of. It causes you to suffer, knowing you will never be the man Trump is. Please, seek counseling.
It's no shame admitting you can't play 4D chess. Go on, and admit you aren't as smart as Trump.
Actually,5:35 pm I can play and can, unlike Trump produce proof I'm a genius.
It's laughable to go back to the 1868 and 1917 to justify Trump's actions as MAGA has been doing. Good Lord women and children were still considered a man's property back then! Our economy as well as the world economy is dramatically different!
Trump has a BS degree, but there is no evidence he has an MBA. Trump and I are the same age. His bachelor's degree from Wharton was in 1968. That's when I got mine. It took two more years for me (including two more courses in economics) to get an MBA.
There's no evidence that Trump did that or even too a much later "MBA program" offered to CEO's that took 6 weeks . I've not seen that certificate either.
A genius has to read and study to learn about economics just like we had to learn to read. All human first had to be literate! We had to see words and understand what they meant!
If Trump claimed he knew more about the brain than your brain surgeon, I think some of you would believe it!
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