Trump is now saying he will remember companies that don't seek tariff refunds. Yes, the federal debt is growing and if all the 166 billion collected in tariffs has to be paid back, the debt grows even more. I guess he is showing some concern about the debt and the public good.
Imagine what would happen if so many wealthy people, who oppose and avoid income taxes, felt enough concern for the public good that they paid up. The debt would go down. I'm not holding my breath.
It does seem like everyone in this country is on the take. Everyone seems to want retribution, reparations, compensation and lower taxes. The math never adds up and the public good is held hostage.
Wouldn't it be nice if everyone paid their taxes, including the income tax, out of altruism with the rich, who have the most money, paying the most. I don't see that happening.
In our divided society, there is little trust in the public sphere. Right wingers often say that their tax dollars will go to abortion while left wingers worry about all the killing done by the military.
Trust of government and to some extent the public space is low. Still, we somehow need to put energy in to get the things that a great society provides.
Tariffs did hurt lower income consumers more than graduated income taxes would have. They were a bad idea which seems typical of Trump who's looking out for the wealthy.
The Supreme Court, which is usually in Trump's Court did rule against him on the tariffs so now there is a mechanism for refunds.
The refunds are likely to go to corporations that paid the tax. They passed much of that cost on to consumers. Whether consumers beyond those corporations will benefit is a murky question at best. As usual most people will likely feel, as always, that they have been ripped off.
No comments:
Post a Comment