Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to distribute a 2,000-dollar dividend to middle- and lower-income Americans using revenue generated from tariffs, a plan that has drawn scrutiny from U.S. media for its logic and economic rationale. “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,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday. “A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high-income people!) will be paid to everyone.”
According to Namibia Press Agency, a Wall Street Journal opinion piece published on Sunday described Trump’s plan as “a teaching moment for a high school logic class.” It highlighted the contradiction in Trump’s assertion that a tariff rebate can be paid while simultaneously reducing the national debt, which currently stands above 38 trillion dollars, according to the Treasury Department. The opinion piece noted that the annual federal budget deficit is ap
proximately 1.8 trillion dollars, and paying a rebate would increase the national debt rather than diminish it.
The rationale for compensating Americans for higher prices due to tariffs was questioned, with the piece arguing that if tariffs were truly beneficial, taxpayers should accept them without requiring a rebate. Economists have pointed out that the costs of tariffs are primarily borne by U.S. consumers. A Goldman Sachs analysis in October found that six months into Trump’s tariff policy, U.S. consumers were shouldering up to 55 percent of the resulting costs.
Trump’s announcement coincides with ongoing legal challenges to his trade policies. The Supreme Court recently began hearing arguments on whether Trump has the authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs and whether these actions infringe upon the Constitution’s separation of powers. The U.S. Court of International Trade in New York previously ruled on May 28 that the Trump administration’s tariffs were ille
gal, ordering their revocation under the Act. A U.S. appeals court upheld this ruling in a 7-4 vote on August 29.
The timing of the Supreme Court’s decision remains uncertain. Should the court rule against the tariffs, the Trump administration has indicated the potential necessity to refund tens of billions of dollars that have already been collected.