Tariffs

The Chief Justice Herds the Cats

A Narrow Check on Emergency Tariffs I. The Core Ruling and Its Significance At its heart, Learning Resources v. Trump reaffirms a foundational principle: Under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, only Congress can lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises. The Framers, scarred by British monarchs’ arbitrary levies like the Stamp Act of 1765, deliberately vested this "power of the purse" in the legislative branch to prevent executive overreach. As James Madison warned in his speech delivered to the Virginia Ratifying Convention on June 6, 1788, diluting that authority risks "the gradual and silent encroachments of those in…

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A Better Option Than Rebate Checks

A Case for Capital Gains Tax Relief Over Tariff Rebate Checks: Igniting Sustained Economic Growth In the wake of President Donald Trump’s bold tariff agenda, generating over $214.9 billion in 2025 alone, the United States stands at a pivotal economic crossroads. Two competing proposals have emerged to harness this tariff windfall: Trump’s $1,000-$2,000 rebate checks for American households, funded by tariff revenues, and a capital gains tax cut, as advocated in my columns "Friday Forecasting" and "It's Time to Cut the Capital Gains Tax", featuring tiered rates for U.S. stocks and a flat rate for foreign gains, as outlined in the…

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Monday Matters

Quick Takes: Monday Matters The media landscape is dominated by a series of high-stakes developments. Without further ado, let's dive into Monday's Quick Takes. The Biden Autopen Pardon Scandal has erupted, questioning the legitimacy of over 1,500 clemency actions signed with an autopen, amid allegations of unauthorized staff decisions and cognitive decline concerns. Immigration law enforcement tensions have escalated with organized attacks on ICE agents and police, highlighted by the violent Glass House Farms raid and Rep. Salud Carbajal’s alleged doxxing, alongside John Kerry’s surprising endorsement of Trump’s border security stance. Trump’s tariff escalation continues to reshape global trade, leveraging bold…

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Monday Moments

Quick Takes: Monday Moments Healthcare Reforms Are A Vital Response to DOJ’s Historic Fraud Takedown The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) June 30, 2025, healthcare fraud takedown, charging 324 defendants for $14.6 billion in false claims, exposes the critical vulnerabilities threatening Medicare and Medicaid’s solvency. Described as the largest coordinated operation in DOJ history, it targeted schemes like “Operation Gold Rush,” which exploited 1 million stolen identities to bill $10.6 billion, and opioid trafficking involving 15 million prescription pills (Lyndhurst Daily Voice). With $2.9 billion in actual losses and $245 million in seized assets (Tampa FP), this bust underscores the rampant fraud…

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Fisking Sen. Ron Johnson’s 2025 Budget Reconciliation Analysis

Analysis of "FY 2025 Budget Reconciliation: Facts, Figures, and Analysis" by Senator Ron Johnson Introduction Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) authored the "FY 2025 Budget Reconciliation: Facts, Figures, and Analysis" report, released on June 18, 2025, which examines the U.S. federal budget’s fiscal challenges. Notably, Johnson is also recognized for producing an immigration chart that gained historical significance during a July 13, 2024, campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Former President Donald Trump, unscripted, turned to reference this chart on illegal immigration-originally shared with him by Johnson during an April 2024 plane ride-when he was grazed by a bullet in an assassination attempt.…

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The Art of the Deal is Required Reading

Why Understanding Trump’s Tariff Policy Requires Reading The Art of the Deal To grasp the intricacies of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy in 2025, one must delve into The Art of the Deal, his 1987 book that outlines the principles driving his negotiation strategy. This book is not merely a memoir of real estate triumphs but a blueprint for his approach to high-stakes deal-making, emphasizing bold ambition, strategic leverage, and market awareness. These principles-thinking big, maximizing options, knowing your market, using leverage, being willing to walk away, getting the word out, fighting back, delivering results, and enjoying the process-are vividly reflected…

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Trump Wins on Tariffs

Update to My Originalist Critique Federal Circuit Grants Stay and Expedites En Banc Review of Trump Tariff Cases In my article "The Trump Tariffs Stay", I provide below an expanded analysis of my original points, incorporating today's Federal Circuit order granting a stay and expediting en banc review in V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump (2025-1812) and State of Oregon v. Trump (2025-1813). This expansion deepens my originalist critique, reflects the updated legal developments, and maintains my first-person perspective as the article’s author. 1. My Originalist Concern: Separation of Powers and Executive Authority In my article, I argued that the Trump tariff…

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Unexpectedly!

Analysis of April Inflation News Trump’s Tariff Strategy Vindicated Against Media and Expert Skepticism On Tuesday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April showed an annual inflation rate of 2.3%, down from 2.4% in March and below economists’ forecasts of 2.4%. This unexpected slowdown, the lowest since February 2021, follows a temporary U.S.-China trade deal signed on Monday, prompted by President Trump’s 145% tariffs on Chinese goods imposed on April 2, which slashed China’s exports to the U.S. by 21% in a single month. The deal reduces U.S. tariffs to 30% for 90…

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Monday Minutes

A Winning Weekend China Brought to Heel On Monday, the U.S. and China signed a temporary trade deal in Geneva, prompted by the 145% U.S. tariffs imposed on April 2 that slashed Chinese exports to the U.S. by 21% in a single month. China’s reliance on the U.S. consumer economy, which absorbed $427.2 billion of their exports in 2024, made this loss crippling, forcing them to the negotiating table. The deal lowers U.S. tariffs to 30% for 90 days, with a 10% baseline and 20% fentanyl-related duties, while China cuts its 125% retaliatory tariffs to 10% and lifts restrictions on rare…

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