Uncertainty Trumps MAGA: Tariffs are Worse than Taxes
May 29, 2025
All credit to King Trump for trying to make America great again. We just need to try better ideas. Lowering taxes on all Americans, reducing wasteful spending, subsidizing domestic manufacturing, and negotiating trade agreements are good ideas. Tariffs, on the other hand, are a terrible idea. The uncertainty about tariffs can be even worse.
Why Tariffs Are Worse Than Taxes
In debates about economic policy, few tools are as politically tempting—and economically damaging—as tariffs. They’re often sold as a way to protect domestic jobs and punish unfair foreign competition. But in practice, tariffs are worse than taxes—for businesses, consumers, and the economy as a whole.
Here’s why:
1. No Deductions, No Exceptions, No Loopholes
Unlike income taxes, which offer deductions, credits, and ways to reduce liability through investment or strategic planning, tariffs are flat, unavoidable charges. Whether you're a Fortune 500 company or a small importer, you pay the same price hike. There's no accounting wizardry to soften the blow.
2. Everyone Pays
Tariffs aren’t just paid by foreign exporters. They raise prices for every American—on clothing, electronics, tools, food, and more. They function as a regressive tax, hitting low- and middle-income families hardest. The cost is hidden in the price tag, not a paycheck stub, but the impact is real—and broad.
3. Business Uncertainty
Taxes are predictable. Tariffs are not. They can be imposed overnight, changed arbitrarily, and lifted just as fast—often at the whim of political pressure or geopolitical friction. For businesses trying to build long-term supply chains, set prices, or invest in growth, tariffs create chaos, not clarity.
4. No Control Over Retaliation
When the U.S. raises tariffs, other countries hit back—on our exports. Unlike federal tax policy, which is set domestically, tariff retaliation is beyond our control. American farmers, manufacturers, and exporters pay the price for foreign countermeasures they can’t influence or avoid.
5. They Pretend to Be Free Money
Tariffs are often marketed as “making other countries pay.” In truth, it’s American businesses and consumers who foot the bill. That’s not patriotic policy—it’s political misdirection.
Tariffs are taxes—but worse. They are blunt, hidden, unpredictable, and retaliatory. They hurt more people than they help. And while taxes can be managed and debated in the open, tariffs often come through the back door of emergency powers and executive orders—without the deliberation our economy deserves.
In the name of fairness, growth, and stability, it's time to stop pretending tariffs are a solution. They're just a more painful kind of tax.
Uncertainty adds Insult to Injury
In a sharp blow to economic predictability and international trade relations, the U.S. economy is once again caught in the crosshairs of legal and political battles over former President and current King Donald Trump’s latest round of tariffs and “Liberation Day” fiasco. What began as an aggressive policy move aimed at reshaping global trade has now become a legal saga with high-stakes implications for businesses, consumers, and the very balance of power between the branches of government.
On May 28, 2025, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT), a court that almost no one had heard about before, ruled that the "President" (King Trump) overstepped his executive authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by imposing wide-ranging import tariffs on goods from strategic trade partners. The court determined that IEEPA does not grant the president sweeping power to restructure trade policy without Congressional input—particularly when the “emergency” invoked is economic in nature rather than linked to national security or war.
In theory, the ruling provided swift relief: the majority of the “Liberation Day” tariffs targeting goods from European and Asian allies were to be blocked. For businesses battered by months of rising costs and disrupted supply chains, it seemed like a long-awaited reprieve.
The celebration lasted less than 24 hours.
The very next day, a the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an emergency stay, reinstating the tariffs as the legal challenge continues. While the appeals court did not evaluate the merits of the case and the constitutional claims at hand, it cited the potential disruption to ongoing government operations and trade enforcement efforts as justification for preserving the status quo.
The result? Tariffs plus uncertainty. Part of the country has not realized that Trump is a King than cannot do wrong. Lower courts waste time enforcing laws that the Supreme Court, the King's court, will most likely interpret in favor of Trump. The confusion and uncertainty stems from the fact that we are supposed to be a Constitutional democracy, but Trump is acting like a King. The legal limbo is leaving billions or trillions of dollars in trade policy dangling, and thousands of American businesses in a state of strategic paralysis.
The Business Backlash
From household brands to niche manufacturers, businesses across the country are expressing deep frustration at the uncertainty. Retailers, small businesses, logistics companies, investment firms, and many others have criticized the tariffs for inflating prices, delaying shipments, and confusing customers.
Some companies are trying to profit from the inventory shifts and uncertainties, but most are in triage mode, revisiting contracts and reconsidering overseas partnerships with every legal twist.
The tariff rollercoaster has also rattled Wall Street. Stocks rallied briefly after the initial court decision, only to wobble again following the appeals court’s intervention. Investors—already wary from months of interest rate speculation and geopolitical instability—now face yet another volatile variable: the king's edicts being appealed at lower federal courts to be ultimately upheld by the "King's court".
The Bigger Fight: Power and Precedent
While the short-term economic toll is clear, the long-term constitutional implications are even more consequential. At the heart of the case is a fundamental question: Can a president restructure the economy under the guise of emergency powers—without Congressional approval?
The CIT’s ruling marked a rebuke of presidential overreach. The emergency stay by the appeals court, however, underscores the challenge of untangling executive authority from national policy—especially in an era where partisan divisions have paralyzed legislative oversight turning Congress into a rubber stamp of the de facto King.
Legal analysts expect the case to ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court, where the ruling could once again redefine the limits of executive power in economic affairs for decades. Most likely than not, the Court will further extend the powers of King Trump. You bet.
What’s at Stake Now
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For businesses: Continued uncertainty in pricing, sourcing, and inventory.
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For consumers: Risk of persistent inflation on imported goods and supply chain bottlenecks.
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For global partners: Hesitation in negotiating trade deals with a nation whose policies can shift dramatically at the stroke of a gavel—or a tweet.
The core irony is that while the “Liberation Day” tariffs were sold as a path to American independence and industrial revival, they have instead slowed down the economy and increased taxes on all Americans.
Until the King's Court issue a definitive ruling, or Congress asserts its constitutional role, the country remains trapped in a cycle of confusion. Tariffs are up one day, down the next. Businesses hold their breath. Diplomats hedge. Investors flinch.
And America waits—uncertain, again—while progress hangs in the balance.
Our advice? Think of Trump as a king who will rule for life. Don't fall for the trap of building a fake democracy or kleptocracy to pretend that Trump is not acting like a king. See it is as it is. Let the inevitable unfold. The king is getting old and the job is killing him. Keep all this in mind as you make plans for a future that for good or bad, for better or worse, will be no doubt a future without Donald J. Trump. Long live the king!
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