Tag: Income

The Upside Of Tariffs?

I know, I know I have been critical of Donny’s one trick pony, tariffs….but in all fairness I want to let my readers know how the tariffs are effecting this country….

How much cash has been brought into the treasury?

President Donald Trump’s radical new tariff regime has brought in a surge of revenue from importers who must pay the higher duties. But is it enough to replace the income tax as the main source of funding for the federal government, as Trump administration officials have argued?

Treasury Department data shows that will be a massive stretch.

The United States has generated $74.3 billion this year from tariffs as of June 18, the latest data available — 84.7% more than the same time last year. Federal income taxes, meanwhile, brought in $2.4 trillion in 2024.

And the $34.1 billion difference in tariff revenue year-on-year is just part of the story. High levies can cause huge surges in revenue that later level off as trade patterns shift and businesses seek to lower costs along their supply chains.

https://www.politico.com/interactives/2025/trump-tariff-income-tracker/

To be clear I never question how much cash would be coming in……my main concern was what it would do to prices and effect the common person.

And along those lines this report….

Predictions from mainstream economists were dire after President Donald Trump launched his tariff campaign just a couple weeks after he began his second term in office: Prices would rise — sharply — they said, reigniting an inflation crisis that tens of millions of Americans had elected him to solve.

But that massive, tariff-induced inflation spike hasn’t materialized. Not even close.

Not yet, anyway.

Consumer prices rose just 2.4%, annually, last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was less than economists had expected, and only slightly higher than the 2.3% rate in April, which was the US economy’s lowest inflation since February 2021. According to the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index most closely followed by the Federal Reserve, core inflation — which strips out volatile items like food and gas prices — fell to 2.5% in April. That was the lowest reading since March 2021.

…

Research firm Telsey Advisory Group, which has been tracking the prices of 80 select consumer items across a wide variety of retail categories, reported this week that just 19 products it has tracked have gained in price since mid-April — and 16 items’ prices fell. Similarly, the New York Times’ Wirecutter, which recommends consumer products, tracked the prices for 40 of its top picks over the course of two months and found this week that the vast majority didn’t change price at all: 10 gained in price and only half of those gained more than 7%.

“There haven’t been many significant upticks in prices as of yet given that many retailers are still selling through their lower-cost inventory,” Dana Telsey, CEO and chief research officer of Telsey Advisory Group told CNN.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/20/business/tariff-price-increases-inflation-explained

So far that is good news….but keep in mind that the harsher tariffs have been put into pause for a 90 day period and that is soon to expire….that is unless Donny does what I expect….another pause.

So far so good….but how long can that last?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–13Oct20

Do You Make $400,000 a year?

If so then according to the chairman of the RNC you are the same as 82% of the American people.

Ronna Romney McDaniel, the chairperson of the Republican National Committee, on Sunday faced backlash after suggesting that “82% of Americans” make more than $400,000 per year.

In a tweet on Sunday, McDaniel pointed to a video clip from a conservative media group, which asserted that “middle income earners” will see a tax increase under a Joe Biden presidency. However, Biden has said that he will not raise taxes on individuals making less than $400,0000 per year.

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/twitter-buries-gop-scumbag-liar-ronna-mcdaniel-for-claiming-82-of-americans-make-over-400000-year/

Is this broad that out of touch?  Maybe she is just a long toad like her fearless leaders.

Are you in that false 82%?

I’m not.

This is just one example of why I have a hard time voting GOP at any time….they are just so damn out of touch with the society that they cannot possible do anything for the whole country.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Economic News Round-up

Economics is one of those subjects that when it is mentioned most people glaze over….they could care less about the term as long as they are making money they are happy…..that is until someone mentions socialism then they have an opinion…..usually it is not well informed but it is an opinion.

I try to help my readers understand a wide array of subjects and I try to keep them as simple as possible so they can be understood.

In his attempt to “Make America Great Again” our Dear Leader has started with imposing tariffs on our biggest competitors…..and these tariffs are starting to effect our farmers…..

New trade data provides tangible evidence that some elements of President Trump’s trade wars are backfiring.

Prices for agricultural exports fell 5.3% in July, the biggest drop since 2011. The price of soybeans fell 14.1%, accounting for most of the overall drop. There were also small declines in the price of corn, wheat, fruit and nut exports. Overall export prices fell 0.5%, the biggest drop in more than a year, with agriculture causing most of the decline.

Beginning July 6, China imposed 25% tariffs on a variety of American agricultural products, including soybeans, corn, poultry and pork. Tariffs are a tax that instantly raise the cost of the targeted product, so $100 of soybeans would cost $125 with China’s 25% tariff. The tariffs have led some purchasers in China to cancel orders for U.S. agricultural products and seek cheaper commodities from other nations not subject to the new tariffs. Diminished demand pushes down prices and lowers farmers’ incomes.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trumps-trade-war-starting-hurt-us-farmers-184608387.html

How long will his tariffs plug away at our farmers?

Almost daily reports are to the people that the markets are setting new highs and corporate earnings are up and unemployment is hitting new lows and…….

But does that mean everything is alright?

The Lamestream Fake News Lyin’ Media is often accused of never reporting the good news when it comes to Donald Trump, American president. So here are some fair tidings: the stock market is mostly up! So are corporate earnings! GDP growth is strong! Unemployment is near historic lows! That includes black unemployment, although the president mostly uses the stat as a cudgel against accurate assessments of his rhetoric on race!

Now, it’s important to keep in mind that these findings are actually continuations of longstanding trends that began a few years into the Obama administration. Take the S&P 500:

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a22716745/donald-trump-economy-real-wages-stock-market-unemployment/

Wages is the big problem……while CEOs are raking in historically high bonuses and incomes the normal worker is not making the same ….their wages are stagnant and have been for decades…..

Some say the US is overdue for another “market correction”……

Economists debate, inconclusively, this question: Do economic expansions die of old age (the current one began in June 2009) or are they slain by big events or bad policies? What is known is that all expansions end. God, a wit has warned, is going to come down and pull civilization over for speeding. When He, or something, decides that today’s expansion, currently in its 111th month (approaching twice the 58-month average length of post-1945 expansions), has gone on long enough, the contraction probably will begin with the annual budget deficit exceeding $1 trillion.

The president’s Office of Management and Budget – not that there really is a meaningful budget getting actual management – projects that the deficit for fiscal year 2019, which begins in six weeks, will be $1.085 trillion. This is while the economy is, according to the economic historian in the Oval Office, “as good as it’s ever been, ever.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-08-21/america-overdue-another-economic-disaster

Capitalism is always just one “correction” away from disaster…….

How Does Your State GDP Match-Up?

In these days of massive tax cuts for governments…..how does your state match-up with other countries……

Amazing how many states have the GDP of third world countries, huh?

Is America still Number One? Depends on which metrics you use. By at least one measure, China’s economy already is the world’s biggest (1). Other criteria still put the U.S. ahead, at least for a few more years.

This map presents another way to gauge the size of the American economy, and one less prone to the ‘declinism’ of the eternal comparison to China.

Source: US States Renamed as Countries with Similar GDPs | Big Think

Ain’t graphics grand?

Income Inequality Will Get Worse

The Dems and their candidates have all jumped on the income inequality thing….they have set about outlining so many different programs that will eliminate this growing problem if they are elected……to that I has Bullsh*t!

Why would I say that?

They are lying…..they are promising something they cannot deliver….all to get a vote and to go to the Big House of government…….

It will get worse before it gets better…if it ever does……

We’ve all heard about rising income inequality, and for good reason: It’s a huge problem. Just consider the fact that the wealthiest 1% of Americans accounted for roughly 21.2% of all earnings in 2012, compared to just 8.9% in 1973, according to UC Berkeley’s Center for Equitable Growth.

But far less obvious is the eventuality that things will get much worse before they get better. Don’t believe it? Here are a couple of specific reasons why we’re in for more darkness before dawn, plus some ideas on how we can fix the underlying problems.

Source: Why Income Inequality Will Get Worse Before It Gets Better | Alternet