Tag: Revenue

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”

Greedy Little Sh*ts

My readers know I do not post much on sports….for one I think most athletes are spoiled little brats with little redeeming quality other than running….but I read a piece the other day that made me just shake my head in disgust…….so I guess I am the archetypical American….football is a sport that is nothing more than a diversion from daily life not some altar to be worshiped at…..

(Newser) – Coldplay, Katy Perry, and Rihanna: One of them will headline next year’s Super Bowl halftime show, and it might just come down to whoever is willing to shell out for the privilege. Citing “people familiar with the matter,” the Wall Street Journal reports that the NFL, in notifying each act that they’re the finalists under consideration, is also asking if, ahem, they might be willing to toss some post-halftime show income or “some other type of financial contribution” the league’s way. The NFL isn’t commenting on particulars, and a rep would say only that its commitment is only “to put on the best possible show.”

Though the Journal notes that the idea met a “chilly reception,” it’s an interesting gambit: Last year’s show hauled in 115.3 million viewers, and artists such as Bruno Mars and Beyonce have successfully used their performances as a springboard for concert tours—often putting tickets on sale virtually as the curtain goes down. CD and MP3 sales often see a boost, as well, though it’s tough to gauge exactly what that windfall might be. As for who might be inclined to cough up, the Verge notes that all three acts are well-established cash cows and don’t need the exposure the way an up-and-comer might. That said, Rihanna is currently recording her first album since 2012, and, well, if she happened to time its release fortuitously, might have the most to gain.

We all know how strapped the NFL is for cash…..(don’t bother….it was sarcasm)…..I mean look at what they pull in for ads placed during the Super Bowl….but now they are pushing the limits of their profit making apparatus.

But we will see which ‘star’ is truly a entertainer and which are in it for purely egotistical reasons…..

Taxes Not Collected

Daily Agitator

I know we all have had a WTF moment and find ourselves scratching our heads…..one of mine came this morning watching a talk show……there is a conversation between a couple of people and one of them was obviously pro-business…..Gov. Rendell brought that Exxon paid NO taxes in the US in 2010….but paid $56 billion (I believe) in taxes to other countries…..there was my WTF!

You are telling me that a company that is protected by the US does not have to pay its way in the country?  And then this pro-corporate dude said that they keep taxes low in this country so that business will create jobs and that would mean more people would be paying taxes and the nation’s income will go up…..WAIT!  Another WTF moment!

You are telling me that that is the plan?  Hire more people and get massive taxes breaks and the revenue will go up?  In other words it is still on the backs of working stiffs to keep the country going. right?  So it is all about the working class, middle class, whatever you would like to call it to pay all the bills?  And business gets the usual free ride?

Let’s keep with that line of thinking……corporations have just gotten a massive tax break thanx to Obama and the Repubs….we all know this…..then where has the rush to create jobs been?  It is NOT the tax code that is preventing the creation of jobs……it is greed!

People keep trying the old tired and lame theory of trickle down economics….they only re-package it every decade or so to fool the voter with unbelievable promises of prosperity…..and they BUY IT!

You guys really want an idea?….here is one……everybody, personal and corporations,  pays 10%…no breaks, cuts or deductions….working stiffs will have more on their checks…corporations will be paying the lowest corporate tax rate…and the country will once again have a revenue…..ya like it?!

Oh yeah…..and stop making plans that will go economic NOWHERE!  The truth is the best this country can ever do is a 2 year plan that coincides with elections….that is REALITY!

Is This A Dumbass Plan?

Inkwell Institute

Budget Deficit Series #7

For years now I have been writing about taxation and fiscal policy….on how tax revenues are the sole source that generates money for the states and the country……and to cut taxes in times of deep economic problems is more of a give away than entitlement programs….

Allow me to qualify what I am saying….

Sales taxes on groceries would be eliminated once the state’s economic condition approves under a bill that has passed the Oklahoma Senate.

The bill would eliminate the sales tax on groceries once state revenue collections return to where they were before the economic downturn.

The bill also has a provision that would require the state to reimburse local cities and counties for sales taxes lost on groceries.

In my state there is a similar bill in the legislature but it has not yet passed……there also other forms of tax cuts being offered also….

Where I have a problem with this the fact that of reimbursement….yet another problem, even though a future problem, for local governance……the money that is being given away by cities and states just to try an lure business will not be replaced….that is why it is called a “GIVE AWAY”……..

Legislatures are looking short term and a political benefit and are ignoring the long term beast they are creating….this will come back and bite somebody in the ass!  This is just a way to gain politically for the guys in charge….yes it will save people a bit of cash….but keep in mind that the lost revenue WILL be made up as soon as they can…..so if anyone is to be bitten in the ass…..it will be YOU!

Why Is The Country Broke?

Professor’s Classroom

Subject:  Economics/Public Policy

Budget Deficit #5

In the past year there has been hours upon hours of the threat of the country going broke…surely you are aware of this by now…..Is it broke?  Then how does it happen?

Repubs and conserv Dems, which includes everyone in Washington,  say that it is the fault of entitlements and the out of control spending that the government has engaged in…..But how did our lack of cash come about?

If we listen to Repubs it is the give a ways from the entitlement programs…you know the services like Social Security, Medicare, etc….they say that these programs are eating up more and more of the revenue of the US and that it must be stopped…and of course, it is all the fault of Baby Boomers and their damn need to retire…

I have given this talk before…..I AGREE…it is all the fault of the give-a-ways….surprised?….Do not be…the give a ways I am referring to is taxes……apparently dipsticks do NOT know that taxes are the sole source of revenue for the country and every tax cut is doing NOTHING but making life worse for the people…..okay, it is a popular issue….everybody thinks that life will be magically better when tax cuts kick in…..my question now is….after 20 years or so of these magical mystery benefits…..how has it worked out?

Look at the states and their problems…..almost every problem that they face is because for a couple of decades they have given away all the state income in tax breaks and such to companies that they want to attract to the state….once again…how has that worked out?  If you want states to solve the ills of the society, then that will take money and tax cuts do NOT generate anything but votes….but yet the people still think that tax cuts and breaks and incentives will be a magic pill that will cure all the problems that come to light……it is a LIE!  And anyone that believes that is DELUSIONAL!

Everyone can relate…..without income there is NO progress or stability!  The use of stats to make the case for tax cuts is another lie…….look at reality…..poverty has risen during the years of the tax cuts….so who benefits from the cuts?  Bet it is not YOU!

Taxation To Come?

All states are suffering for a budgetary shortfall….why?….basically they have given away all revenue to business and now needs to find ways to extend their income……good plan, but who will pay and who will benefit?

Well, California seems to have an idea as reported by the LA Times:

The most obvious thing about the big, complicated tax reform scheme that will go to the Legislature this week is that millionaires would save an average of $109,000 a year. Taxpayers making between $40,000 and $50,000 would save $4. This is not a typo.

The plan, still awaiting a final draft, is the work of the grandly named California Commission on the 21st Century Economy, which held its final official meeting last Monday. But it’s been clear from the beginning that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in setting it up last fall, was aiming to do precisely that: enact big cuts for upper-income taxpayers and create what’s become a pea-under-the-shelltax system to make up the lost revenue.

Under the commission’s BNRT proposal, all California businesses would pay a tax, probably about 4%, on their net receipts, which would be calculated by subtracting the cost of the goods they’ve purchased from their gross receipts. That makes it roughly like a VAT, the value-added tax used in most of Europe, but not similar enough to be comparable. Under the BNRT, there would be no deduction for labor costs, not even for employee health plans.

That element alone creates incentives for firms to purchase parts from abroad and, depending on how the courts rule on a string of unsettled legal issues regarding taxation of out-of-state entities, maybe even from Oregon or New York, rather than making them with their own workers in California. “It appears to be a tax on employees,” wrote the state Chamber of Commerce and other groups. And because the tax is built into the price of California goods and services, it also could make them less competitive in other states and abroad.

Something to watch…..even though some states have found alternate avenues to gain revenue, this, if it passes, could be the future for other states that are in sad need of revenue.

My state is scrambling around trying to find new sources of revenue without hitting business……business is the life blood of the politicians of my state and the bane of the workers.  Anything they could do to drop the bulk of revenue responsibility onto the worker the better….business will never be asked to shoulder any responsibility.