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Reminder: A Tariff Is a Tax
I’m all in favor of using tariffs as a negotiating tool as long as the end goal is free & fair trade. By far the best scenario from an economics efficiency point of view is zero tariffs on all sides. If they remain in place, even if the rates are favorable to the U.S., the costs are added directly or indirectly to consumer products and business raw materials. We all know about sales tax since it’s printed on our receipts, but companies pay a long list of taxes as a cost of doing business; for example, income tax, federal & state unemployment tax, half of employee social security tax, licenses, regulatory fees, and so on. Companies that sell products like tobacco, alcohol, and oil also pay excise taxes. All of these taxes are added to the base costs of products, after which businesses mark up the final price to earn an acceptable profit margin. If they can’t sell at the final marked-up price, they simply stop selling/making the product, in which case we have shortages, leading to even higher prices. Also, even if foreign companies are paying the tariffs, that’s all siphoned money that likely would have been invested in the American economy.
Never trust a politician who says he’s going to replace one tax with another. Inevitably, the new tax is added first, but the old tax never really goes away. Ask Europeans about the Value-Added Tax. In the American case of “tariffs replacing income” taxes, I do sincerely believe Trump would do away with a large portion of income taxes if he could, but given Congress is almost completely controlled by DC Swamp creatures, that was never going to happen. His spending bill threw in a few temporary tax breaks on tips and social security, which are nice, but in a few years we’re just going to end up in the same place with more taxes that don’t go away. When Democrats gain power again, they might reduce a few tariffs but replace them with higher taxes on “the rich,” crafted inside a 3000-page bill that actually raises taxes on the middle class.
Oh, and if you need another reason to hate the media, listen to an hour of CNBC any time of day. You will hear the word “tariff” spoken hundreds of times. Yet, in Biden’s entire 4 years in office, never once, NOT ONE SINGLE F-ING TIME, do I ever remember a reference to Biden tariffs or new tax proposals adding to the cost of products. It doesn’t matter how you frame it though, any tax is taking money out of the private sector while introducing inefficiences that make the U.S. and the world less wealthy.
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Article: Why Netflix and Other Streamers May Have Gotten Trump Reelected
Tanning tax? WTF? Oh, and Gun Ownership Fees are just outright unconstitutional.
The tanning tax was one of those gifts buried in the 1000s of pages of the Obamacare bill.
I live like I’m maybe upper middle class, certainly not like I’m rich. But if you saw my salary, most people would think I’m rich. Maybe not 1% rich, but still. I added it up one time, I pay like 45% or so of what I make in taxes, once you account for state, local and federal. Property taxes, sales tax, licenses and registrations, income, all that stuff. That doesn’t even account for stuff like goods being more expensive because of tariffs, or that a large portion of my fuel purchase is straight up taxes. A good 30+% gets yanked out of my check before I even see it. I drive a 15 year old truck and eat left-overs several meals a week. At this point, I’d be amazed at any fricking tax break. It is ridiculous the amount of money I pay, and every article about some immigrant gaming the system and stealing millions really works me up. 45% of my salary goes to the govt and mostly they just waste it. I can fricking waste it myself much better. The only way to reduce govt is to starve the beast. And that simply won’t happen.