The brilliant thing about the president’s tariffs has been the way it is a perfectly regressive tax, because the costs of higher tariffs are ultimately passed on to the consumer. Wealthy people don’t really care if things cost a little more, but to the working class and middle classes, the resulting higher prices for goods — or for the raw materials needed to manufacture those goods — can be devastating.
The president and his friends had a perfect system going. In addition to lowering taxes on the wealthy by gutting services to the lower and middle classes via his “Big Beautiful Bill”, his tariffs have been providing yet another way to empty the pocketbooks of regular folks so that more money can be funneled to his shiny rich friends.
But now the Supreme Court has gone and messed it all up. Their argument is simple: The law says, very clearly, that Congress, not the Executive branch, has the responsibility to set tariffs.
The Republicans in this particular Congress don’t want to mess with you-know-who. But the Court is pointing out that setting tariffs on foreign goods is not merely a right reserved for Congress, it’s actually the responsibility of Congress. And Congress cannot legally shirk that responsibility.
So now poor you-know-who will need to find other ways to suck money out of the pockets of regular folks like you and me, so he can funnel that money to himself and his rich pals. But don’t worry, I am sure he will find a way.