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Notes -
Tariffs are functionally a sales tax, and sales taxes are a common revenue workhorse even if economists hate them. I suspect they won't actually make a dent in the debt. But if they do it's a lot easier to justify than reforming the income tax again(and Trump's base would defect if he took away the breadwinner-favoring provisions that hit revenue hard) or introducing a VAT or the other usual options.
My read is that the goal is to settle into an equilibrium where the Tariffs other countries have against the U.S. are reduced or eliminated, and the U.S. keeps tariffs low but in place on certain 'critical' goods, and sees some revenue from these that doesn't piss off too many people.
Add in steps like securing deals for resources on foreign soil, or taxing remittances, or even acquiring stakes in U.S. companies.. These seem like semi-stealthy ways to try and squeeze some money out of the economy that doesn't show up on the voters' annual tax return.
Also they tried to sell off some Federal Lands but people pitched a fit.
Do I like all this? NO.
But it looks intentional, not just arbitrary steps to enrich Trump and his cronies with no larger strategy at work.
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