Michael Cohen - The Supreme Court vs. The Tariff King
There’s a special kind of arrogance in watching Donald Trump pound the podium, sneering at economists and insisting that “foreign countries are paying the tariffs.” He says it with that New York swagger, that delusional conviction that the world should just believe him because he said it. But here’s the reality: tariffs are taxes. And consumers pay tariffs. Period. End of story.
Every dollar in “tariff revenue” Trump brags about is a dollar taken from American pockets. You, me, small business owners, families trying to buy a couch or a computer or a car—all paying for the privilege of Trump’s trade tantrum.
Right now, thanks to Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs, the average tax on imports is a staggering 18 percent. Eighteen. Before Trump swaggered back into office, it was 2.4. The Treasury is collecting almost four times more than it did a year ago, and the MAGA crowd cheers like he’s struck gold. But they’re cheering their own pickpocket. This is the con within the con—the illusion of “economic strength” built entirely on siphoning money out of the consumer economy.
Trump has always loved a shiny number that hides a rotten truth. Tariffs, he claims, are “making America rich again.” Sure—if you’re counting the extra cash flowing into federal coffers while factories close, inflation rises, and manufacturing jobs drop by tens of thousands. For everyone else, it’s just a tax hike by another name.
https://www.meidasplus.com/p/the-supreme-court-vs-the-tariff-king