There is an old saying that goes, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” It’s hard to say this, but maybe we need to give it a second thought.
President
Donald Trump has talked about providing $2,000 to Americans from the money the
government has been collecting for tariffs on foreign goods. Most of us could
use $2,000. During the Biden Administration, the Democrats and Rino Republicans
increased federal spending by trillions of dollars. The resultant inflation made it more
difficult for many Americans to afford the necessities of everyday life. Those of us who are on a fixed income,
families with children, the poor, and many others have been disproportionately
affected in a bad way. So, I don't think
very many people would turn down $2,000.
Certainly,
President Trump knows that public support for his economic policies has been dwindling.
It cannot have escaped his attention
that paying out some of the tariff money to the people might help to build public
support for his policies. It would also be
likely to increase demand for goods and services; increasing job creation and economic
activity in the short term.
Unfortunately,
flooding the economy with additional money would decrease the value of money.
Consequently, it would take more money to buy the same amount of things. That
is one of the ways that inflation is fueled.
It is not wrong
to give people a break. I'm aware - very aware - that people are hurting.
Therefore, giving people $2,000 dollars is not in itself a bad thing. There
are, however, other good ways to use the money; ways that might benefit our
people more over the long term.
The interests
of the American people would be well served if the tariff money was used to pay
down the national debt. The national debt is now well over $38 trillion and climbing.[1] That does not include the debt owed by state
and local governments. Many knowledgeable persons believe this amount of public
debt will eventually lead to an economic disaster.
Two ways that tariff
revenue could be used to reduce the national debt include paying it down
directly or using it to bolster federal revenue in support of the Trump tax cuts. Either one would be more effective if
combined with cuts in federal spending.
In the past,
lower taxes have resulted in more revenue becoming available to the government.
Decreasing taxes (increasing revenue) will help offset the deficit spending our
government seems to be addicted to. The same would be true of direct payments to
reduce the rate by which our national debt is growing. If federal spending is not reduced, tax cuts
and tariff revenue alone will never solve the problem of federal indebtedness.
In the interest
of full disclosure, I will not return it if the government gives me $2,000. I could use the money. It would be more socially and economically
responsible if the government would use everyone’s share to begin to address
the national debt.
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