ATLANTA – Libertarian Chase Oliver scoffs at yet another stream-of-consciousness rambling by Donald Trump – this time, that he will punish China with tariffs and use the money to end income taxes.
“Tariffs are a tax, plain and simple,” says Oliver, who worked in logistics and dealt daily with imports and exports. “They are paid by American consumers and American businesses. They raise the cost of goods at a time when households are desperately trying to keep pace with the Trump/Biden inflation.”
“Donald Trump should know this, but he appears to be economically illiterate. The same goes for the Biden/Harris White House, who have retained many Trump era tariffs.”
Just like Mexico was never going to pay for a wall along its border, other countries will never pay tariffs.
Americans will.
Americans will pay either by buying fewer needed items because these goods cost more or we will go without. It’s low- and middle-income Americans who most feel rising prices, not politicians or millionaires who might be exaggerating their net worth.
Other countries will retaliate by introducing tariffs on our goods, which already cost more than those made in emerging economies like China.
News flash: The last thing Americans want is China or any other country going into a recession. The growing middle class in emerging economies – who finally are making enough money to buy desirable yet more expensive U.S. goods – will not be able to afford American goods and services.
The retaliatory tariffs will only push our exports further out of reach, hurting U.S. companies that make them, which will hurt those who work for these companies.
To replace the income tax, it’s estimated that tariffs would have to generate 150% of the amount currently spent on imports. That’s not a tariff of 150%, but the replacement value to fully replace the income tax. It does not take into account that spending on imports would drop precipitously.
Chase Oliver supports moving away from taxing income, while acknowledging that it’s a power that belongs to Congress, not the president.
Congress must stop deficit spending and pay down the debt – a timebomb that might go off after Trump is gone, yet will be felt by Millennials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and generations not yet born.
Chase Oliver will veto any budget that does not balance – a power that the president does have.
A wiser choice would be to lift tariffs that Trump imposed in his only term, and President Joe Biden supported in his only term. Vice President Kamala Harris has said she wouldn’t change a thing that the Biden administration has done.
See Chase Oliver’s platform plank on the economy, which came from research and input from economists, not informed by stray internal voices during campaign-stop monologues. https://votechaseoliver.com/platform/