Great to see our government collecting our money, almost like an extra tax! Tariffs do work in taking our money!
amazing how that happens when the gov takes an additional 100+ billion from citizens and adds to the treasury.
So many people hate on Scott Bessent because of tariffs.
I hate him because he’s gay.
We’re not the same.
Budget surplus means that the American people need a refund.
Hopefully you’re trying to be funny making fun of the dumb liberal propaganda against tariffs. This is money foreign companies have paid the US government so they can try and sell their shit to you.
If your money is going to recently more expensive foreign products then you should reconsider your purchases.
That’s not how tariffs work. Who pays depends on the Incoterms in the purchase order/contract. With lots of goods the importer will be responsible for tariffs and taxes.
With raw material like steel and copper it’s all passed on to the buyer - American manufacturing industry.
If the exporter is responsible it depends on the product. Some cheap shit or high end products might have high margins and the exporter can swallow the cost. Lots of goods they can’t and the price is raised.
And guess what happens when the price of imported goods go up? The domestic producer raises their price too, just not as much…
You guys are cheering on a sales tax for regular consumers while taxes are lowered for the top 1%. Have fun with that.
At this rate it’ll make up for the $1.15trillion deficit from February - May in no time…
Odds that the guv uses this ‘surplus’ to responsibly pay down debt or reduce the tax burden on citizens or that the guv says ‘woooot! Spend spend spend! Momma got her alimony!’?
Ah that figures. I figured importing business weren’t paying them the majority of the time but supposedly guess so.
Lots of factors looks like but a big one depends on how foreign companies respond with any price changes in their products. If americans aren’t willing to buy their shit at a higher price then they’ll have to lower their price and eat the cost of the tax that way. Which unless people are stupid with their spending should be how it plays out
This is only a monthly stat and we should hope it doesn’t continue because every single US government surplus (on a fiscal year basis) has been followed by a depression. Not a recession , a depression. The only one that didn’t was followed by the 2008/2009 recession.
A government surplus, sucks money out of the economy it a severe way. The government typically spends in around of 20% - 30% of the economy. Most of that comes from taxes but about 1/5(at the moment ) or so comes from a budget deficit which results in borrowing / debt.
A budget surplus means the government is cutting off 1/5 of that 20%-30% GDP contribution or 4%-6%,of the total economy (plus what ever the surplus is). That is massive! 4%?! Recessions are called over less than -1%.
A government using a fiat currency that runs a budget surplus is not bad, it is very bad.
@grok is this true?
Dang testing to see if he went Skynet.
Look it up.
Or just think about it. Government spending is 1/5th or so of the economy.
1/5 of government spending is deficit spending (borrowing)
1/5 of 1/5 is 4% of the total economy.
2 consecutive quarters of negative growth is generally considered a recession. Even -0.25% for two quarters could be called a recession by nber, usually. -4.0% would be severe, easily triggering a depression.
Yeah, but that varies from industry to industry. Maybe it’s true for fast fashion, but lots of industries work with profit margins at 8-15%, and basic goods might have 4-8%, after direct and indirect costs. You can’t just eat the cost increase. If the tariff is 10% you don’t have a profit and if it’s 25% you’re operating at a loss.
Tariffs are increased costs, no matter who’s responsible for the paying it. When costs increase the market adapts by increasing price and lowering demand.
The US definitely has to lower its spending and increase its revenue. My issue with tariffs are that they’re regressive and hit the middle and working class the hardest.
The goal is to drive foriegn business out until equilibrium with home grown companies able to compete vs the slave labor and atrocious environmental standards of the 3rd world.
There will be blood.
Jobs will be lost, new jobs will sprout.
So basically someone decided to stop kicking the can down the road and reset, knowing there will be short term pain. And force the longterm goal of a stronger America?
Sounds like a nazi
Is elimination of personal income tax next?
Which is a separate question. Then tariffs won’t be the federal revenue stream this thread is about. And the cost of living will go up for the middle and working class.