Donald Trump wants to get the American people behind his tariff plan, even as they are still facing high prices on groceries.
In early November, the president announced a proposal to send $2,000 to low-and middle-income families, gleaned from the funds the government is bringing in via tariffs.
Now, however, a report has surfaced that Trump’s plan will outspend the tariff revenue, pouring cold water on a plan to which many Republicans are quietly objecting already.
Trump announced his tariff plan on Truth Social, posting, "A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high-income people!) will be paid to everyone.”
The concept immediately came under attack, and there were even rumblings among Republicans that the idea seemed more like a Democrat strategy to buy votes than a GOP plan.
After all, the tariffs were supposed to help decrease the country’s debt, not serve as a source of direct income for taxpayers.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later clarified that not everyone would get the checks proposed by Trump, stating that only Americans who had an income of $100,000 or under were likely to qualify for the tariff rebate.
This week, a report from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) popped up, indicating that the rebates would likely cost the country more than the tariffs are bringing in.
The CRFB noted that if the payments are structured in the same manner as COVID-19 stimulus disbursements were, it would cost the government about $600 billion to send them out. Trump’s tariffs, however, have only brought in about $100 billion so far.
Over a full year, those tariffs would still only yield about $300 billion, far less than Trump is proposing to send in rebate checks.
I think the plan is outrageous, as we need to use this money to pay down the debt, and that is assuming the tariffs are permitted to stay in place, with a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on the question still pending. As the laws are currently written, tariffs can only be widely employed with congressional approval, and all major trade deals must be ratified by Congress. Trump is testing the limits of those laws with his current strategies.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick discussed the rebate plan this week, but his comments on it did not give me more confidence in the idea. Quite frankly, they outraged me even more.
He stated, “Well, look, the President wants to make sure the American people understand that the tariffs are there for their benefit, right? That it’s -- yes, it’s going to drive down our deficit. Yes, it’s going to make the country stronger.”
Lutnick continued, “But he wants the people of America, the American people, to appreciate these tariffs, and he knows if he puts money into their pocket and says, look, this was paid for by the tariffs, they’ll better understand how important this is for America. And so, that’s why he’s talking about it.”
If you have to pay people for them to like your program, then it is not a good program. This is a payoff, and I don’t like it. It is along the lines of the student loan forgiveness plan attempted during the Biden administration, which was essentially a “free” government bailout designed to buy votes during an election cycle. I don’t like it, not one bit.
