Tag: taxes

Trump’s Tariff Order Is Clear, Strategic, and Necessary—Critics Just Aren’t Reading It

Critics of President Trump’s April 2, 2025, executive order on tariffs argue that the policy lacks clarity or direction. Yet the order is anything but vague. In fact, it offers one of the most detailed diagnoses of America’s structural trade imbalances in decades—backed by specific data, a national security framework, and a roadmap for restoring fairness in global trade.

The problem isn’t the order’s content—it’s that few critics have bothered to read it.

At the heart of the executive order is the assertion that large and persistent U.S. goods trade deficits—totaling $1.2 trillion in 2024 and up over 40% in just five years—represent an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to America’s economy and national security.

These deficits, it explains, are not merely the result of market forces but the product of “disparate tariff rates and non-tariff barriers” erected by America’s trading partners.

The order doesn’t just assert this—it proves it. According to the World Trade Organization, the U.S. has one of the world’s lowest simple average Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) tariff rates at 3.3%.

In comparison: Brazil charges 11.2%, China 7.5%, the European Union 5.0%, India 17%, and Vietnam 9.4%.

The imbalance becomes even more striking in specific sectors. The U.S. imposes just a 2.5% tariff on passenger vehicle imports with internal combustion engines, while the EU charges 10%, China 15%, and India a staggering 70%. On network switches and routers, the U.S. imposes no tariff at all, but India levies 10%.

For apples, the U.S. allows duty-free imports; meanwhile, India charges 50% and Turkey over 60%. These are not rhetorical flourishes—they are hard data used effectively to show just how unreciprocated U.S. market access has become.

More importantly, the order does not treat trade policy as a narrow economic matter—it places it squarely within the realm of national security.

Keep reading

Wall Street Journal Sides With China In Trump Trade Rebalance As Media Narrative War Grows

We have noticed a narrative in the legacy media regarding Trump’s sweeping tariff initiative, where the President is looking to regenerate American manufacturing and rebuild ‘main street’ for the American middle class.

The narrative in the mockingbird media is that ‘Trump is helping China.’

Actually, its the legacy media that has been, and is now, helping China.

China’s economy is very fragile at the moment and dependent on the American economy. Their real estate bubble is massive. Chinese citizens are doing whatever they can to get out of the country as they see the CCP Ponzi scheme tumbling down.

China does not have a strong consumer economy, and they steal American technology routinely, for their military and to manufacture and export.

It’s time to end this cycle.

Trump knows this.

The legacy media knows this also and is trying to stop Trump from accomplishing what the President knows must be done to save America.

The media campaign is coinciding with nationwide Soros-funded protests against Trump’s initiatives yesterday.

Keep reading

Here’s When Canada Will Cave on Trump’s Tariffs

I have no doubt that Canada will cave to Trump on tariffs. The question is: when? “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary expressed confidence that the ongoing trade tension between Canada and the U.S. would eventually lead to a resolution, and he even predicted when.

In an interview with Yahoo Finance, O’Leary said he believes that while the current rhetoric surrounding tariffs might appear grim, there is a strong economic incentive for both nations to come to the negotiating table and reduce the barriers that have caused friction in recent years.

O’Leary emphasized the importance of distinguishing between the “noise” of political rhetoric and the underlying “signal” that points toward economic cooperation. While current tensions have made it seem nearly impossible for the two nations to agree on trade policies, O’Leary argued that a combined economic effort between the U.S. and Canada could pose a significant challenge to China. “If you combine those economies… it would be much stronger against China if there were no tariffs between Canada and the United States,” he said.

The logic behind this argument lies in the historical and economic interdependence of the two countries. According to O’Leary, Canada’s economy has been deeply tied to the U.S. for over a century, with 75% of Canada’s output sold to the U.S. for more than 120 years. Furthermore, 17 U.S. states consider Canada their top trading partner, while 28 states rank Canada as their second-largest partner. “It would be economic suicide not to work this out,” O’Leary stated, underscoring the critical importance of a favorable trade agreement for both nations.

Keep reading

Rhode Island Bill Would Allow State Residents To Spend $10,000 Monthly In Bitcoin Tax Free

A bill introduced to the Rhode Island Senate would enable the state’s residents to spend or sell just under $1,000 in bitcoin 10 times per month without incurring state capital gains taxes.

Bill S. 0451, which was introduced to the Rhode Island Senate last month, permits the state’s residents and businesses to make up to 10 payments in bitcoin valued at less than $1,000 per month (or sell the equivalent amount) without being subject to state capital gains taxes.

The bill is an amendment to existing state income tax laws, and the exact language in the proposed legislation is as follows:

“Any sale of [b]itcoin by an individual or business in Rhode Island shall be exempt from state taxation if the total value of sales is less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) per diem. The limit of the state tax exempt [b]itcoin transaction shall not exceed ten (10) sales per a thirty (30) day cycle.”

And the bill defines a “sale of [b]itcoin” as “any transaction in which [b]itcoin is sold or exchanged for another form of value, such as fiat currency or other physical or digital assets.”

The bill also clarifies that this exemption only applies at the state level and that it doesn’t affect federal tax obligations.

Under the bill, individuals and businesses who engage with these types of tax-exempt bitcoin transactions are responsible for keeping records of these transactions, including the total value of sales per day, and should be prepared to provide these records to the Rhode Island’s department of revenue for audit or compliance purposes.

Keep reading

Climate Change Policies Driving California’s Golden Road to Decline

The first of two reported essays on the issues facing California. Read the second installment here.

“From the Beginning, California promised much. While yet barely a name on the map, it entered American awareness as a symbol of renewal. It was a final frontier: of geography and of expectation.”

— Kevin Starr, “Americans and the California Dream, 1850-1915” 

California’s economic, academic, media, and political establishment still embraces the notion of the state’s inevitable supremacy. “The future depends on us,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said at his first inauguration, “and we will seize this moment.” Others see California as deserving and capable of nationhood, a topic that has resurfaced with Trump’s presidency as it reflects, as a New York Times column put it, “the shared values of our increasingly tolerant and pluralistic society.”

Critics say this vision is at odds with the facts on the ground. Rather than the exemplar of a new “progressive capitalism” and a model for social justice, California both accommodates the highest number of billionaires and the highest cost-adjusted poverty rate. It has the third highest gap, behind just Washington, D.C., and Louisiana, between middle- and upper-middle-income earners of any state. Nearly one in five Californians – many working – lives in poverty (using a cost-of-living adjusted poverty rate); the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) estimates another one-fifth live in near-poverty – roughly 15 million people in total.

“California” is a model that no longer delivers. To be sure, California has a huge GDP, paced largely by high real estate prices and the stock value of a handful of huge tech firms. It retains the inertia from its glory days, particularly in technology and entertainment, but that edge is evaporating as tech firms flee the state and Hollywood productions are shot around the world. For all its strengths, California has the nation’s second-highest rate of unemployment with lagging job growth, particularly in comparison to its neighbors and chief rivals, notably Texas, Arizona, and Nevada.

The signs of failure are evident on the streets. Roughly half the nation’s homeless population lives in the Golden State, many concentrated in disease- and crime-ridden tent cities in Los Angeles or San Francisco. Barely one in three state residents – and only one in four younger voters – now considers California a good place to achieve the American dream. Increasingly, California is where this dream goes to die.

Keep reading

CONFIRMED: Ursula von Der Leyen’s European Commission Paid Millions to ‘Environmental Associations’ for Targeted Campaigns To Smear Political Opponents and Dissenting Voices

By now, it surprises absolutely no one to learn that the European Union Globalists and her powerful Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen are guilty of weaponizing the continent’s powers against their political enemies and the patriotic forces that oppose their suicidal policies.

After years of heavy criticism and scrutiny, the EU Commission has officially admitted a huge scandal: Brussels paid millions to environmental associations – but not only, mind you, for the nonsense ‘climate work’. What the EU was actually financing were targeted campaigns against political opponents and dissenting voices.

Austrian News Site Exxpress reported (translated from the German):

“The suspicion has been around for years, but now it is official: The EU Commission under Ursula von der Leyen has supported environmental organizations with taxpayers’ money – not only for climate and environmental protection, but also for political smear campaigns. The aim of the funded NGOs was to specifically attack critics of Brussels’ climate policy.

The explosive admission: In an official statement, the Commission admits that there have been “inappropriate lobbying activities” in funded NGO programs. This apparently refers to targeted attacks on political opponents who opposed individual EU plans.”

Keep reading

Trump’s Tariffs Are Working — Here Are All The Countries Already Backing Down

President Trump’s tariffs are already having an impact.

Earlier this week, Trump announced a sweeping new trade policy that included a universal 10 percent tariff on all imports into the United States.

In addition to this baseline measure, the administration introduced a system of reciprocal tariffs targeting countries with significant trade surpluses over the U.S.

The tariffs vary in severity, with higher rates imposed on nations deemed to have particularly unbalanced trade relationships or who refuse to buy American goods.

However, many countries are already offering the U.S. concessions:

Vietnam — Following the announcement of a nearly 50 percent tariff on their imports, Vietnam has immediately entered negotiations with the White House.

President Trump reported a “very productive call” with Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, during which Lam expressed a willingness to reduce tariffs to zero contingent on the signing of a free trade agreement.

India — India has initiated discussions with the U.S. to address the trade barriers.

Officials are reportedly exploring the possibility of reducing or eliminating tariffs on certain U.S. imports and increasing purchases of American goods.

Israel — Israel wants to negotiate terms and potentially secure exemptions or reductions and has already agreed to scrap all its tariffs on U.S. imports.

Prime Minister Netanyahu will further discuss the issue with Trump on Monday.

European Union (27 countries) — The EU has proposed lowering car tariffs and increasing purchases of U.S. energy and military equipment in an effort to negotiate exemptions and reductions.

Trump has long complained about the EU’s unwilligness to buy American cars.

Japan — Japan has signaled a willingness to negotiate by pledging increased imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) and investments in artificial intelligence.

South Korea — South Korea is looking at possible trade concessions that would involve leveraging strategic sectors like semiconductors to reach a favorable agreement.

Thailand — Facing the prospect of billions in losses, the Thai government is planning to increase imports from the U.S. and reduce tariffs on American products to address the trade imbalance. 

Keep reading

Report: Medicaid Double Payments Cost Taxpayers $4.3 Billion In Three Years

Irecently analyzed in these pages why claims that the House Republican budget will “cut” Medicaid have no merit, not least because Medicaid will continue to grow by over $1 trillion in the coming decade. But if that weren’t enough reason for lawmakers to accelerate efforts to reform a broken program, a recent Wall Street Journal analysis provided another:

Health insurers got double-paid by the Medicaid system for the coverage of hundreds of thousands of patients across the country, costing taxpayers billions of dollars in extra payments. The insurers, which are paid by state and federal governments to cover low-income Medicaid recipients, collected at least $4.3 billion over three years for patients who were enrolled — and paid for — in other states.

As the saying goes, you can’t make this stuff up. Is this what Democrats want to defend when they say they want to “protect Medicaid” — inefficiency bordering on fraud within one of the federal government’s largest programs?

Keep reading

Other Countries Seem To Like Tariffs… So Why Are People Opposed To Trump’s Tariffs?

April 3, President Donald Trump announced it as “Liberation Day.” And by that he meant we were going to be liberated from asymmetrical tariffs of the last 50 years. And it was going to inaugurate a new what he called “golden age” of trade parity, greater investment in the United States, but mostly, greater job opportunities and higher-paying jobs for Americans.

And yet, the world seemed to erupt in anger. It was very strange. 

Even people on the libertarian right and, of course, the left were very angry. The Wall Street Journal pilloried Donald Trump.

But here’s my question. 

China has prohibitive tariffs, so does Vietnam, so does Mexico, so does Europe. 

So do a lot of countries. 

So does India. 

But if tariffs are so destructive of their economies, why is China booming? 

How did India become an economic powerhouse when it has these exorbitant tariffs on American imports? 

How did Vietnam, of all places, become such a different country even though it has these prohibitive tariffs? 

Why isn’t Germany, before its energy problems, why wasn’t it a wreck? It’s got tariffs on almost everything that we send them. 

How is the EU even functioning with these tariffs?

I thought tariffs destroyed an economy, but they seem to like them. And they’re angry that they’re no longer asymmetrical. 

Apparently, people who are tariffing us think tariffs improve their economy. Maybe they’re right. I don’t know.

The second thing is, why would you get angry at the person who is reacting to the asymmetrical tariff and not the people who inaugurated the tariff?

Why is Canada mad at us when it’s running a $63 billion surplus and it has tariffs on some American products at 250%. Doesn’t it seem like the people who started this asymmetrical—if I could use the word—trade war should be the culpable people, not the people who are reluctantly reacting to it?

Sort of like Ukraine and Russia. Russia invaded Ukraine. Do we blame Ukraine for defending itself and trying to reciprocate? No, we don’t. We don’t blame America because it finally woke up and said, “Whatever they tariff us we’re gonna tariff them.” 

Keep reading

Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs: Fear Porn At A Fever Pitch

On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump unveiled his reciprocal tariff policy, a bold stroke to rebalance global trade and deliver a windfall to American taxpayers. Branded “Liberation Day,” this plan promises to slash the trade deficit, boost domestic industry, and restore economic sovereignty. Predictably, the usual suspects—ivory-tower economists and free-trade purists—are gasping in horror, warning of inflation and trade wars. But with Canada and Israel already pledging to zero out tariffs on US goods, Trump’s strategy is proving its worth before it’s fully off the ground.

The congressional GOP must rally behind this policy, not just for party loyalty, but because it’s a pragmatic, taxpayer-friendly move that could redefine America’s economic future—potentially even paving the way to ditch the income tax.

American taxpayers have long shouldered the burden of a lopsided trade system. The US has boasted some of the world’s lowest tariffs—averaging 2.2%—while nations like India (12%) and China (with effective rates ballooning under non-tariff barriers) enjoy near-unfettered access to our markets. The fallout? A $1.2 trillion goods trade deficit in 2024, a gutted manufacturing base, and a tax system that squeezes workers to prop up foreign economies. Trump’s reciprocal tariffs turn this on its head.

By matching foreign tariffs—34% on China, 20% on the EU, up to 49% on outliers like Cambodia—Trump is forcing a reset.

Critics bleat about higher consumer prices, conveniently glossing over the policy’s core: incentivizing domestic production. “Build your plant here, no tariffs,” Trump declares. Companies that relocate will hire Americans, pay US taxes, and shrink the trade deficit. That’s not a tax hike—it’s a tax relief blueprint. Meanwhile, companies like Ford are establishing product discounts, calling them “From America, For America” discounts. More jobs, “Made in the USA” discounts, and higher wages mean less reliance on public assistance, easing the strain on taxpayers.

Here’s the kicker: tariffs could be the key to axing the income tax entirely.

In 2024, the federal government collected $2.2 trillion from individual income taxes. Trump’s team projects reciprocal tariffs could generate $500 billion to $1 trillion annually, depending on compliance and retaliation. Pair that with corporate tax revenue from repatriated businesses, and you’ve got a revenue stream that could replace the IRS’s chokehold on American paychecks.

Before 1913, tariffs funded nearly half the government; today, they’re a measly 1% of revenue. Trump’s plan revives that model, shifting the burden from workers to importers and foreign profiteers. Opponents who scoff at this as “unrealistic” are just scared of losing their sacred cow—complex tax codes that favor their cronies.

Keep reading