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Conservative David Frum nails tariffs: A shift of the cost of government from the rich to the poor. [1]
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Date: 2025-05-22
David Frum, in a near-perfect analysis, rips Trump’s tariffs for forcing the poor to pay for the government, continuing the wealthy’s parasitic nature.
Conservative David Frum nails tariffs.
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Summary
In this compelling segment, conservative commentator David Frum incisively criticizes Trump’s tariff policy, exposing it as a regressive tax scheme that shifts the burden of funding government from the wealthy onto working-class Americans. Frum inadvertently validates a progressive critique of economic injustice by unpacking the nature of tariffs as discretionary taxes that disproportionately impact those least able to pay. His analysis reveals how Trump’s policies enrich the elite, protect corporate giants, and devastate consumers and small businesses.
Tariffs as Taxes: Frum clarifies that tariffs are taxes mainly on goods, not services, disproportionately hurting low-income Americans who rely on imported everyday products.
Frum clarifies that tariffs are taxes mainly on goods, not services, disproportionately hurting low-income Americans who rely on imported everyday products. Presidential Discretion: Unlike other taxes, the president can unilaterally impose or waive tariffs, making them vulnerable to cronyism and political favoritism.
Unlike other taxes, the president can unilaterally impose or waive tariffs, making them vulnerable to cronyism and political favoritism. Regressive Impact: The poor pay more as tariffs target cheap goods, while the wealthy—who consume more services—escape the burden entirely.
The poor pay more as tariffs target cheap goods, while the wealthy—who consume more services—escape the burden entirely. Corporate Advantage: Big corporations can lobby for exemptions, while small businesses that rely on imports face extinction due to a lack of pricing power and political access.
Big corporations can lobby for exemptions, while small businesses that rely on imports face extinction due to a lack of pricing power and political access. Policy Hypocrisy: Both Trump and many Democrats fail to challenge the regressive nature of tariffs, instead offering vague support for “smart tariffs” without addressing their impact on inequality.
Frum’s critique cuts through partisan noise to affirm what progressives have long argued: tariffs under Trump are a con, designed to offload the cost of government onto the poor while billionaires and corporations reap benefits. This regressive strategy punishes working families at the cash register and wipes out small businesses in favor of monopolistic giants. True economic justice demands not trickle-down tariffs, but structural reform that shifts the burden back to the wealthy elite who have gamed the system for far too long.
The complete article is here on my Substack.
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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/5/22/2323907/-Conservative-David-Frum-nails-tariffs-A-shift-of-the-cost-of-government-from-the-rich-to-the-poor?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web
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