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It's Not Just tRump: Make the GOP Own the Tariffs [1]
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Date: 2025-04-07
Congress — especially the House — is in charge of taxation.
Here’s some of what it says in Article I, Section 8 (omitted the sections that don’t deal with taxation):
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; To borrow Money on the credit of the United States; To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States; To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
tRump declared the tariffs by saying there was an emergency. But that can be stopped:
x Republicans in Congress can join Democrats right now to turn off the bogus emergency Trump has declared to impose worldwide tariffs. Or they can continue to bend the knee to Trump. — Elizabeth Warren (@warren.senate.gov) 2025-04-07T14:30:52.647Z
We need this information to be known by all.
The GOP can end this now. Quickly. With a resolution.
And if they don’t, they are responsible.
The Situation
How come the president can do tariffs? Because in 1921, Congress passed the Emergency tariff act
The Emergency Tariff of 1921 of the United States was enacted on May 27, 1921. The Underwood Tariff, passed under the Presidency of Woodrow Wilson, had Republican leaders in the United States Congress rush to create a temporary measure to ease the plight of farmers until a better solution could be put into place. With growing unrest in the American public, President Warren G. Harding and Congress passed the tariff. Causes In the 1920s, the most disconcerting economic issue was declining farm profits. From 1900 to 1920, American farmers had prospered while European agriculture suffered serious disruption during World War I, which made prices soar. In 1919, Europeans began to close their markets by implementing tariff barriers. The period of American agricultural prosperity caused by rising demand had ended by the early 1920s. While American farms continued to grow because of previous wartime price and technological advances, the European demand for American farm products declined, and prices plummeted.[1]
That’s what tRump used as an excuse for the tariffs. He has been pushing the idea that we have been suffering because of trade imbalances. This is not true, of course. Our economy was the envy of the world. Trade imbalances mean that the US gets to consume cheap goods. Furthermore, we had low unemployment.
x 6 months ago, US economy, under President Joe Biden was the envy of the world. — Being Liberal ®🗽🇺🇲🇨🇦🇲🇽🇪🇺🇺🇳🇺🇦🏳️🌈 (@beingliberal.bsky.social) 2025-04-07T14:21:04.567Z
Why is tRump doing this? To destroy our position in the world and to make putin happy? To pay for the trillions he wants to give to those who are already rich? Because he’s just really bad at business? Remember, he’s bankrupted many businesses.
It doesn’t matter. The thing is, he can be stopped.
Some Republicans are already on our side.
There’s Mike Pence, branding this is as the biggest tax hike ever:
x Mike Pence blasts Trump’s tariffs: “The Trump Tariff Tax is the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history…And will cost American families over $3,500 per year” — Republicans Against Trumpism (@rpsagainsttrump.bsky.social) 2025-04-02T23:51:14.700Z
There’s Senator Rand Paul, who knows what tariffs have done to the GOP in the past:
x RAND PAUL: “.. When McKinley most famously put tariffs on in 1890, [the GOP] lost 50 percent of their seats in the next election. When [Smoot and Hawley] put on their tariff in the early 1930s, we lost the House and the Senate for 60 years.” @washingtonpost.com t.co/ONtPfv9On2 — Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) 2025-04-04T08:40:15.753Z
There are business leaders such as Dimon at JP Morgan:
x DIMON on tariffs, Jan 22: “Get over it.” DIMON this am: — Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) 2025-04-07T10:21:00.175Z
Stupid not to see it coming before, but now he’s better. I hope the tRump era finally puts the stake in the vampyric myth that Rs are better for business — and that we stop inviting them into our homes!
There has already been some movement:
x This Senate bill to slap limits on the president’s tariff power now has SEVEN Republican sponsors: • Grassley • Moran • Murkowski • McConnell • Tillis • Young • Collins — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur.bsky.social) 2025-04-07T13:55:15.232Z
What can you do?
Spread the message far and wide.
Contact your senators and your representative. Tell them to take the tariff power back to the Congress.
Anyone who votes with tRump deserves to be dumped.
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