By John Q. Hosedrinker 
New retaliatory tariffs went into effect, as announced by the former president on Truth Social, claiming billions would flow into the United States. However, the Treasury Secretary admitted that American importers, and ultimately consumers, are the ones who pay the tariffs. While the administration may attempt to deflect responsibility, the economic reality is that the tariffs primarily burden American businesses and consumers, leading to slowed economic growth and rising prices. Despite warnings from some advisors, the former president has continued his controversial tariff policy and has fired the Commissioner of Labor Statistics.
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Treasury Secretary Admits Trump’s Tariffs Are Paid by Americans. Seriously, this is news? The fact that the Treasury Secretary had to “admit” something so fundamental about how tariffs work is a sign of just how detached from reality some people are. It’s like being surprised that the sun rises in the east. Tariffs are, plain and simple, a tax. And who ultimately pays taxes? The consumer. It’s not rocket science. Yet, it seems like a significant portion of the population, specifically those in the MAGA camp, were utterly oblivious to this basic economic principle.
The whole charade started when Trump repeatedly claimed that tariffs were a way to get “other countries” to pay money to the United States. He’d boast about “billions of dollars flowing into the country.” The reality, though, is that these “billions” were coming out of the pockets of American businesses and, by extension, American consumers. It’s a classic example of a politician manipulating facts for political gain, preying on a lack of understanding of economics.
The Treasury Secretary’s admission wasn’t exactly a bold revelation. It was more like a reluctant acknowledgment of something everyone with a basic grasp of economics already knew. He, of course, did some verbal tap-dancing before coming to the point, but the core truth couldn’t be avoided. Tariffs increase the cost of imported goods. These increased costs are either absorbed by businesses, cutting into their profits, or passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. Mostly, it is passed down to the consumer.
The fact that this basic truth needs to be “admitted” underscores a larger problem. It’s a problem of misinformation and a willingness to accept blatant falsehoods from political leaders. It’s a problem of a population that is either willfully ignorant or simply unable to understand the basic principles of economics. This leads to all sorts of confusion and, quite frankly, allows politicians to get away with lies.
Of course, the people who were deceived by Trump’s rhetoric are unlikely to change their minds now. The echo chambers of social media and certain news outlets will continue to propagate the same misinformation, regardless of what the Treasury Secretary says. Those folks would probably hear a completely different story on Fox News. They likely won’t hear anything, at all, about this.
It really is a shame. There is a big misunderstanding of this whole idea of trade. The whole idea of tariffs is an attempt at creating a protectionist environment where goods are more expensive so they’re going to be purchased domestically. It really amounts to a tax on Americans, and nothing more. The tax revenue generated from tariffs is not some magical windfall. It goes to the government, but the burden is borne by American consumers. They’re the ones paying more for imported goods.
This should be a simple concept to grasp. It’s a tax hike, plain and simple. And who does it mostly affect? The working class. It is just another example of the many times a politician has gone on national television, or social media, and outright lied. When the former president would boast of tariffs bringing in money to the country. This should be a very easy way to figure out what tariffs are. But the people who voted for him would not care enough to make any change.
It’s just a stark reminder of the importance of critical thinking, media literacy, and, most importantly, not blindly accepting everything a politician says. It’s not difficult to look into the basic economics of a situation. It is a demonstration of how easily people can be misled. It makes one wonder how the political discourse is still where it is.
So, the Treasury Secretary admitted what everyone else already knew. The only surprising thing is that it was presented as news at all. Perhaps it would have been more surprising if he had said tariffs were actually paid by those other countries.