c/politics · by RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world · 312d

Trump says he'll issue $2,000 tariff dividend to all except 'high-income people'

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-hell-issue-2000-tariff-dividend-except-high/story?id=127356839

President Donald Trump on Sunday claimed that a “dividend of at least $2000 a person” will be paid to all Americans except for “high-income people,” saying the country is now wealthy as a result of his tariff policies.

“People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS! We are now the Richest, Most Respected Country In the World, With Almost No Inflation, and A Record Stock Market Price. 401k’s are Highest EVER,” the president wrote.

227 points · 85 comments · view on lemmy.world

85 Comments

reddig33@lemmy.world · 116 pts · 312d (9 replies)

Sounds like adding more to the national debt to me.

UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 52 pts · 312d (6 replies)

What do I care? It's all funny money anyway.

Not that Donnie Dipshit is actually going to deliver. But I'm tried of hearing about the deficit whenever "money for plebs" is on the table. Then Israel or Argentina gets $40B no questions asked. Nobody seems to bat an eye.

partofthevoice@lemmy.zip · 20 pts · 312d (3 replies)

You paid him more than his bullshit 2k anyway. Weren’t the earliest estimates like 3.5k annual per household? Not to mention, you can’t buy my complacency on dismantling of the economy. Fuck Trump. I’d rather eat roaches than take his stimulus.

Scubus@sh.itjust.works · 16 pts · 312d

You can't buy my complacancy... but you can try. Maybe try again, just to be sure.

UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 311d (1 reply)

You paid him more than his bullshit 2k anyway.

I didn't pay him shit. I paid the retailer. And the retailer sets prices as the optimal clearing rate - the point at which (units sold * price) = max(profit). If the retailer can charge me $120 instead of $100 and still maximize profits, they'll do that whether a tariff exists or not.

Not to mention, you can’t buy my complacency on dismantling of the economy.

We can. Purchased complacency has been the bedrock of modern economic theories since at least Roosevelt. The state spends money to appease the masses while the private sector extracts their labor at a profit.

Trump's engaging in this arbitrage with the subtlety of a heart attack. But his policies aren't novel. Cutting people checks and telling them "Now Support Me!" is a time tested strategy for whipping votes and quelling opposition.

I’d rather eat roaches than take his stimulus.

Enjoy your roaches. I'll be cashing any checks sent my way.

partofthevoice@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 311d

Very surface level. Thanks for the perspective.

reddig33@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 311d (1 reply)

The National debt bill will come due one way or another. Either through “austerity” clawbacks or devaluing your wages by printing money. It’s not like they’re going to tax the rich.

UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 311d

The National debt bill will come due one way or another.

Who owns the debt and what does "coming due" look like? Treasury bonds have been recycled for over a century. We haven't had a "zero" national debt since... what? The Andrew Jackson Administration? And that royally fucked the economy by depriving it of a secure repository for long term savings.

Either through “austerity” clawbacks or devaluing your wages by printing money.

At some point, everything we do in the economy is a choice. The idea that we all need to suffer because a number on a ledger goes up or down entirely decouples the idea of money from the consequences of public policy and private administrative decisions.

There's no material reason for clawbacks or devaluation, outside the fact that its an outcome certain powerful people are seeking. It isn't a consequence of the national debt any more than the New Deal / Great Society or the Petrodollar were a result fiscal prudence.

Inaminate_Carbon_Rod@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 312d (1 reply)

At this point who cares?

Scubus@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 312d

National debt? Isnt that like our high score?

Leonyx@kbin.melroy.org · 88 pts · 312d (2 replies)

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skeezix@lemmy.world · 29 pts · 312d (1 reply)

your check will arrive in 2 weeks!

Zier@fedia.io · 9 pts · 312d

That will be the first 2 weeks of March 2084, check your mail you could be a winner.

riskable@programming.dev · 70 pts · 312d (1 reply)

Interesting: I guess we're about to officially find out just who he considers "a person".

finitebanjo@piefed.world · 17 pts · 312d

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RaivoKulli@sopuli.xyz · 64 pts · 311d (2 replies)

Making people pay tariffs and then giving back some of the money. Brilliant

madcaesar@lemmy.world · 27 pts · 311d (1 reply)

And the morons will love it!

Reminds me of the W rebates, it was some 600 $ per person or some bullshit as he completely fucked the economy and put huge amounts of debt on the next generation.

But again, the moron American Voter fell for it becuase of course they did

aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com · 5 pts · 311d

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cosmicpancake@sh.itjust.works · 44 pts · 312d (9 replies)

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Tehbaz@lemmy.wtf · 16 pts · 312d (5 replies)

Doesn't matter. Anyone who understands what tarrifs are isn't his target audience, the dullards who voted for him will just see a $2000 cheque with 'DONALD J. TRUMP' on the bottom and think that they got free money for nothing from king kiddyfucker.

Whostosay@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 312d (3 replies)

They will never ever see that check lol

mycodesucks@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 312d

Don't have to. For these idiots, the fact he SAID it was coming is just as good as having done it.

Serinus@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 312d (1 reply)

We might. He owns the Supreme Court and Congress. For some reason they've abdicated all of their power and have no mind of their own.

And who's gonna vote no?

Whostosay@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 311d

He will. He's not giving money to anyone regardless if it's his. That's less money he can steal later.

Inaminate_Carbon_Rod@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 312d

Rumours will start in deep red communities that democrat voters didn’t get one, further proving Trump is their golden god as they high five and laugh.

UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 312d (1 reply)

Remember how tariffs actually work: they are a tax on imports that businesses usually pass on to consumers

The argument for tariffs basically boils down to profit margin. If you're selling a $100 good into the US that cost you $15 to produce and another $5 to ship, there's a reason to believe you're willing to eat another $15 in import taxes to collect that $80 in profit.

If a business can pass the cost on to the consumer, the issue isn't strictly with the tariffs. It's the absence of alternatives at home that can retail for under $100.

But that's just "business math for dummies". Manufactured goods can cross borders multiple times in the assembling process. And with the sloppy execution of the tarrif, it seems like a single product can be taxed with each crossing. That's a bureaucratic trainwreck for a multitude of reasons. Businesses can't absorb these costs even with enormous margins.

Where is the money really coming from, who defines “high income,” and how do you square higher consumer prices with a big cash payout?

Money comes from the Treasury. High income is a statutory definition. And you don't need to square it, because people aren't tracking the balance.

If he actually wants to give people $2000, put a clear, audited plan on the table.

He's never done that before. Why start now?

cosmicpancake@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 312d

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JeeBaiChow@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 312d

Wonder how long $2000 will last, paying for all those tariffed goods. Wonder who will make the money in the end...

HuskerNation@lemmynsfw.com · 39 pts · 312d (3 replies)

Paying us with our own money

jordanlund@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 312d (1 reply)

Somebody said something about that, didn't they? 🤔

Scratches brain...

“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money”

-Alexis De Tocqueville

phutatorius@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 311d

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DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social · 5 pts · 312d

If only, this is just the money printer going brr again.

runiq@feddit.org · 37 pts · 312d

jordanlund@lemmy.world · 36 pts · 312d (1 reply)

So far, there has been $200B collected in tariffs as of September. Some estimates are saying $300B by end of year.

https://www.crfb.org/blogs/tariff-revenue-soars-fy-2025-amid-legal-uncertainty

The current estimated US population is 340 million.

https://www.census.gov/popclock/

Take off 10% for "the wealthy", that leaves 306,000,000.

I can't imagine Trump giving $2,000 to kids, so knock off anyone under 18, that's another 73 million off the list.

https://datacenter.aecf.org/data/tables/101-child-population-by-age-group#detailed/1/any/false/1096,2545,1095,2048,574,1729,37,871,870,573/62,63,64,6,4693/419,420

So round about 233,000,000 people getting $2,000 checks?

$466 billion. Oops. Hey Donnie, you're short somewhere between $166 and $266 billion.

So how much COULD people get?

$200B / 233M = $858.37
$300B / 233M = $1,287.55

Not awful, until you realize that's how much these taxes soaked you for in the first place. 😉

explodicle@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 311d

And the average person got soaked for more than they even can get back, because tariffs have significant deadweight losses.

BotsRuinedEverything@lemmy.world · 27 pts · 311d (4 replies)

1- no he won't.

2- even if he does it's going to be a disastrous shit show.

Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 311d (3 replies)

It would be hilariously inflationary. It would give the final nudge for all the companies to drop the full tariff burden on their customers. Spending spree, everything goes up by 10% over a few months, 3 months later everyone is poorer than they were before.

explodicle@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 311d (2 replies)

Why weren't the tariffs to raise this money deflationary?

homura1650@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 311d

Because the tarrifs end up is the cost of goods, which is counted as part of their price when calculating inflation.

If you subtract the direct effect of tarrifs on price, you'll find that they were deflationary.

prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 311d

Theoretically, the money should be staying in the economy so the supply of USD in circulation wouldn't change. But since nobody really knows where that money is going, it's hard to know. I'm not an expert though so I could be wrong.

Master@sh.itjust.works · 25 pts · 311d

And then they force you to pay it back in your taxes like they did with the covid stimulus.

Reality_Suit@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 312d

This still doesn't erase the fact that Donald J. Trump is a pedophile, protects pedophiles, and lied about the Epstein files.

plz1@lemmy.world · 20 pts · 311d

That doesn't even offset the higher cost of living caused by the tariffs in the first place. As usual, GOP writing "stimulus" checks to distract from the grift.

Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 312d

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BigMacHole@sopuli.xyz · 17 pts · 312d (2 replies)

FEEDING Starving children is SOCIALISM! Giving Every American $2000 is GOOD CAPITALISTIC POLICY!

RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 312d

It’s a weak bribe.

Soup@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 311d

Except when it was a stimulus check, which was bad and meant that poor people were just going to buy TVs or whatever other nonsense they were yelling about during covid.

Sam_Bass@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 312d

Lie #1,572,688

halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 312d

Meanwhile he's preventing SNAP benefits that average less than $200 per household (not even per person). And that have already been approved and allocated by Congress, he's just preventing it from being distributed.

besselj@lemmy.ca · 15 pts · 312d

"Mission accomplished"

FenderStratocaster@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 312d (1 reply)

I think he might be lying

DaddleDew@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 312d

You can tell because his mouth is open

finitebanjo@piefed.world · 14 pts · 312d (2 replies)

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Leonyx@kbin.melroy.org · 6 pts · 312d

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DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social · 3 pts · 312d

Honestly at this point you have to wonder if he's trying to cause hyperinflation and is just really bad it.

He and his litany of last-mans-in-the-room are all balls deep in crypto after all.

Washedupcynic@lemmy.ca · 14 pts · 311d (1 reply)

$2000 would do almost nothing to improve my life. It's a rent payment. Just die already trump.

luciferofastora@feddit.org · 9 pts · 311d

I bet all the federal workers out of a paycheck right now are gonna be really thankful for getting 2k instead of a stable income.

Meanwhile, the corporate parasites are already salivating at the prospect of the indirect cash injection from government coffers.

Suavevillain@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 312d (4 replies)

I'm sure it will be on the same day the doge checks hit.

BeigeAgenda@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 311d (1 reply)

You can expect them in about 2 weeks

CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 311d

Maybe two weeks after the "med beds".

prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 311d

I heard they're going to do it on the last day of infrastructure week

CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 311d

When that perfect medical system to replace "Obamacare" kicks in.

lightnsfw@reddthat.com · 13 pts · 311d (3 replies)

Oh boy, that'll cover a few months of increased expenses...

RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 311d (2 replies)

Pay down the maxed out credit card a little.

M0oP0o@mander.xyz · 5 pts · 311d

As a treat.

lightnsfw@reddthat.com · 1 pts · 311d

But only a little. Wouldn't want to lose too much interest and hurt the credit card companies profit margins.

Enkers@sh.itjust.works · 13 pts · 312d (4 replies)

Trump suggesting any sort of UBI was not on my bingo card for this year. You just know there's going to be some sort of catch.

Serinus@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 312d (1 reply)

One 2k check is not ubi.

Enkers@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 311d

Oh, lmao, I didn't even realise it was a 1 time thing, but now that I re-read, it does say "dividend". It's basically a small bribe to placate him fleecing his angered masses.

Our premier did that as well, and it was quite effective at keeping him in office, IMO.

bamboo@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 6 pts · 312d

He's starting to crack. He did this during the first presidency with the stimulus checks, and insisted on having it signed by him and not appearing as if it was from the government to boost his (and Republican) popularity. With the midterms approaching and this past week's big wins for Democrats, he's trying to buy votes.

explodicle@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 311d

If it's means tested, then it's not any sort of UBI because it's not Universal.

givesomefucks@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 312d

will be paid to all Americans except for “high-income people,”

The only reason anyone ever does means testing...

Is to make people who dont get something, pissed off at the rest. Too many people are uniting against the wealthy, they need to get the bottom 99% fighting again.

adarza@lemmy.ca · 11 pts · 312d

so the new magat plan is to try to buy the midterms using cash borrowed from our great-grandkids after they 'save' the country from the 'democrat shutdown'?

iAvicenna@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 311d (1 reply)

In other words we will partially give back what you lost through tariffs and pretend like that was a net benefit for y'all.

CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 311d

It's a lot like his shart o' the deal with China last week, right?

HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 312d