Rand Paul - Tariffs are taxes on top of taxes

[jmdrake]

 

[nikcers]

Dozens of countries are investing 10s of trillions of dollars in the United States so the tariffs don't have a real cost.

 

[acptulsa]

Dozens of countries are investing 10s of trillions of dollars in the United States so the tariffs don't have a real cost.

 

[Voluntarist]

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114985474632707201

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

IT’S MIDNIGHT!!! BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TARIFFS ARE NOW FLOWING INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!
Aug 06, 2025, 10:58 PM

From where are they flowing?? Maybe the US importers are paying the tariffs with checks drawn on foreign banks??

 

[TheTexan]

Do you guys not get your tariff refund checks, that pays out 5x whatever you paid in tariffs?

 

[TheCount]

Dozens of countries are investing 10s of trillions of dollars in the United States so the tariffs don't have a real cost.

The people getting the investment $ are not the people paying the taxes.

You're getting fleeced.

 

[nikcers]

The people getting the investment $ are not the people paying the taxes.

You're getting fleeced.

Trump cut the taxes.

The economy is growing at 3% and the cost of living is getting more affordable for Americans. People are getting paid more and the USA is winning the trade war.

 

[TheCount]

No im not Trump cut taxes. The Republicans passed tax cuts.

For the average household, the tariff increases are equivalent to or more than the income tax cut.


You're getting fleeced.

 

[nikcers]

For the average household, the tariff increases are equivalent to or more than the income tax cut.


You're getting fleeced.

For the average household? The revenue of the government doesnt get paid by rhe average household.

Most of the revenue of the taxes are paid by the top 10% of earners.

For everyone else their cost of living is going down

their wages are going up after not getting a raise for 4 years under Biden

they can write off their interest payments on their car

their baby gets 1000 dollar market investments

they have no tax on their tips and jobs are coming back to the USA instead of being outsourced.

 

[Swordsmyth]

Goldman Finds "Sharp Declines" In Import Prices As Foreigners Absorb Trump's Tariffs

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/goldman-finds-sharp-declines-import-prices-foreigners-absorb-trumps-tariffs

Goldman Finds "Sharp Declines" In Import Prices As Foreigners Absorb Trump's Tariffs | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

 

[oyarde]

Current avg tariff right now is just over 17 percent total . So far no legitimate pricing has been influenced by these as most havnt been in effect until about now. Time will tell . Core CPI about 3 ( 3.1 this month) , Id expect that to slightly increase rest of 2025 more so from govt expenditures ( which are included in GDP) but it is refreshing to see GDP above 2. Historical avg years 2000 - 2024 a dismal 1.9 and Jan this yr CBO predicted 1.8 avg for next decade. Im thinking you get a 1/4 point cut from Fed in Sept due to employment numbers. Like to see that GDP keep chooglin . While I dont fundamentally disagree w/ Rands perspective , Id say it is to soon to call if it turns net positive. It is a new experiment , probably not what Id do but we shall see. I think it is important to see what Fed gov does w/ this tariff money being collected also . If it goes into general fund Id say its a total loss .If it is used to apply to debt or tax payer funded programs like social sec Id expect it to receive more support from establishment GOP . Soon estabishment GOP is going to be running mid term races against the Reid-Obama-Bernie -Biden-Pelosi-Clintons -Kamala -AOC- Schumer segments of dems

 

[TheCount]

For the average household? The revenue of the government doesnt get paid by rhe average household.

Oh well then I guess they should pay more taxes.

Most of the revenue of the taxes are paid by the top 10% of earners.

Most of the revenue of the country is earned by the top 10% of earners.

For everyone else their cost of living is going down

Where and how is the cost of living going down?

their wages are going up after not getting a raise for 4 years under Biden

I must have missed the wage increase executive order.

they can write off their interest payments on their car

I love debt now

their baby gets 1000 dollar market investments

I so excited for that to lower the cost of living in 65 years.

they have no tax on their tips

This is very important because everyone who earns tips faithfully reports their full value in their tax filings.

and jobs are coming back to the USA instead of being outsourced.

I can't wait for the new, better jobs reporting to tell me how much of this piss is actually rain.

 

[nikcers]

Oh well then I guess they should pay more taxes.


Most of the revenue of the country is earned by the top 10% of earners.


Where and how is the cost of living going down?

The top 10% of earners will earn more since there will be significant economic growth from the trade deals.

So they will pay even more into taxes but the amount more they pay into taxes will be significantly less than the amount of more money they will be making in the United States economy.

In fact a lot of countries are going to be spending money in the US economy that would have otherwise got spent in other countries.

This is the tariffs and the threat of potential more tarrifs driving these investments.

This will mean jobs and more opportunities for Americans to work and more jobs will mean they will be competing for workers and paying higher prices for workers.

Since we dont have open borders illegal immigrants wont be driving prices higher and driving wages lower.

We will also have a more productive and efficient economy.

This is mainly due to technology like AI that is going to make costs go down on the things we spend the most money on.

This is going to free us to spend those resources on things that traditionally have been deprioritized which will create even more growth.

We are only able to do this because of the investments we made and debt we incurred making those investments. The economy will get rid of the debt through growth.

 

[TheTexan]

I love debt now

The bigger the debt, the healthier the economy

 

[TheCount]

The top 10% of earners will earn more since there will be significant economic growth from the trade deals.

Please do go on, I would love to hear more about how taxes cause economic growth.

The economy will get rid of the debt through growth.

How did that work out the last ten times someone told us that?

 

[Madison320]

I've been wondering about something. What stops high tariff countries from routing their goods thru low tariff countries? For example if the US was charging China 50% and Japan 5%, why wouldn't China sell to a middleman in Japan and then the middleman sell to the US?

 

[oyarde]

I've been wondering about something. What stops high tariff countries from routing their goods thru low tariff countries? For example if the US was charging China 50% and Japan 5%, why wouldn't China sell to a middleman in Japan and then the middleman sell to the US?

This is currently in play now , low skill labor items saying made in china are sometimes made in north korea

 

[nikcers]

Please do go on, I would love to hear more about how taxes cause economic growth.


How did that work out the last ten times someone told us that?

We don't have high taxes globally. Thats the big difference.

Taxes matter when you compare them to other economies in a global economy. So the US tax rates are competitive and we have more access to other markets than we have ever had.

That last part is probably the most important. US businesses will have access to hundreds of millions of more potential customers because of the trade policies created through the use of and the threat of tariffs.

 

[Swordsmyth]

I've been wondering about something. What stops high tariff countries from routing their goods thru low tariff countries? For example if the US was charging China 50% and Japan 5%, why wouldn't China sell to a middleman in Japan and then the middleman sell to the US?

The tariffs require the countries to police that or face the same high tariff rates.

 

[Working Poor]

I clearly remember when Ron Paul was running for president and was asked what would replace the income lost from ending the IRS he said he would use tariffs.
I do agree with Trump on this issue. Other countries have been taking advantage of the USA for a very long time and it is part of the reason we are in such debt.