After the questionable impact of President Joe Biden’s COVID “stimulus” checks, now a new proposal for “tariff rebates” is being considered — even as the national debt stands at a staggering $37 trillion.
President Donald Trump, who initially issued checks in 2020 to sustain the economy during lockdowns, recently proposed $2,000 “dividend” checks for American families, claiming the yearly tariff revenue will exceed a trillion dollars.
At least he also said that paying down the national debt is the “No. 1” priority.
In some alternate reality, “tariff rebates” might seem reasonable, but recent practices have set a concerning trend of each new president issuing “free money” handouts — a cycle Washington must end.
We would ignore the president’s latest suggestion if not for its recurrence, first mentioned when $64 billion in tariff revenue was collected over three months following Liberation Day.
And that followed talk of a DOGE dividend, which happily has since died out.
Yet, politicians across the nation have embraced such tactics; in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul is distributing $400 checks, speculating it will aid her reelection next year — despite the looming multibillion-dollar budget deficits.
Bribing the voters with their own money is an insult, of course â and bribing some of them at the expense of other taxpayers is a recipe for ruin.
Whether in Washington or Albany, any unexpected revenue should be directed towards reducing the debts accumulated from recent spending binges or used to lower tax rates that remain excessively high.
Trump’s already addressing the “affordability” crisis with pro-growth policies to let Americans earn more, and to lower their energy bills; keep that up, sir, and move us toward a future where every fewer people need government checks to get by.
