E.J. Antoni

Well, thank you, Andrew. these different tariffs, which are going to generate revenue. These tariffs are being put in place by the executive and not put in statute by the legislature. They can't be counted in the reconciliation process in terms of revenue that's going to come into the treasury.

And that's so important because under reconciliation, this is supposed to be a process by which you take an existing budget and you basically just tweak it. And so you're not supposed to have drastic changes to either revenue or expenditures. you're supposed to essentially have no effect. It should even out.

And that's so important because under reconciliation, this is supposed to be a process by which you take an existing budget and you basically just tweak it. And so you're not supposed to have drastic changes to either revenue or expenditures. you're supposed to essentially have no effect. It should even out.

So if we're going to make a change like reducing marginal tax rates on income taxes, which is terrific, that's a great thing. It's exactly what the economy needs. It's what the middle class needs. They need tax relief. But now you're going to need to offset that somewhere. And I understand the fact that there's a law for curve effect here.

So if we're going to make a change like reducing marginal tax rates on income taxes, which is terrific, that's a great thing. It's exactly what the economy needs. It's what the middle class needs. They need tax relief. But now you're going to need to offset that somewhere. And I understand the fact that there's a law for curve effect here.

In other words, as you reduce tax rates, that increases economic activity, which grows your tax base significantly. And if you grow the tax base faster than the tax rate declines, overall tax revenue actually increases. That's what we saw during the first Trump administration. The problem is that's not how the Congressional Budget Office scores it.

In other words, as you reduce tax rates, that increases economic activity, which grows your tax base significantly. And if you grow the tax base faster than the tax rate declines, overall tax revenue actually increases. That's what we saw during the first Trump administration. The problem is that's not how the Congressional Budget Office scores it.

And so you need what they sometimes call an offset to the reduction in personal income tax rates. And a great way to do that would be to take the revenue that's going to come in from a tariff, a border adjustment tax is what we really have. Totally agree.

And so you need what they sometimes call an offset to the reduction in personal income tax rates. And a great way to do that would be to take the revenue that's going to come in from a tariff, a border adjustment tax is what we really have. Totally agree.

And then you can now essentially shift some of the tax burden onto foreigners, which is great from an economic standpoint because there is actually an externality at play here. It is our Navy that patrols the world's sea lanes. It is our Navy at our expense that keeps the ocean safe for international trade. And so it only makes sense that other nations would help pay that expense.

And then you can now essentially shift some of the tax burden onto foreigners, which is great from an economic standpoint because there is actually an externality at play here. It is our Navy that patrols the world's sea lanes. It is our Navy at our expense that keeps the ocean safe for international trade. And so it only makes sense that other nations would help pay that expense.

And a great way for them to do it would be to tax the the very thing that our Navy is supporting, which again, is international trade.

And a great way for them to do it would be to tax the the very thing that our Navy is supporting, which again, is international trade.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

It's a fallacy that the entirety of a tariff is always and everywhere passed along to the end user, to consumers. If that were the case, for example, American dairy farmers who are facing a 270% tariff trying to get their products into Canada, they would simply pass that cost along. But they can't because it would make them uncompetitive, right?

It's a fallacy that the entirety of a tariff is always and everywhere passed along to the end user, to consumers. If that were the case, for example, American dairy farmers who are facing a 270% tariff trying to get their products into Canada, they would simply pass that cost along. But they can't because it would make them uncompetitive, right?

A lot of the equations I've seen have it penciled in at about 50%. So again, that's not great because that means consumers are still going to bear some costs. But the idea that they're going to bear the entire cost, again, it's just a fallacy.

A lot of the equations I've seen have it penciled in at about 50%. So again, that's not great because that means consumers are still going to bear some costs. But the idea that they're going to bear the entire cost, again, it's just a fallacy.

You know, the Fed cut interest rates when they had no business doing so back in the autumn. That caused commodity prices to spike. That is now turning into higher wholesale prices and higher retail prices that you and all the listeners have to pay. That's one of the reasons why we're still dealing with some inflationary fallout.