Happy Labor Day! Time for that one last vacation before fall. Labor Day also means that members of Congress are on their way back from their 6-week summer vacation. Wait, didn’t you get a 6-week vacation? Yea, we didn’t either. Congress has a massive amount of work to do when they get back. They have a budget deadline staring them in the face. Just passing a budget isn’t enough – Congress must get serious about spending reform. The budget deficit is expected to be $960 billion this year, climbing up to a $1 trillion deficit next year. Nothing short of serious spending cuts across the board will keep future generations of taxpayers free from debt. Also, Congress still hasn’t addressed the problems at the United States Postal Service (USPS), which announced a loss of $2.3 billion for the third quarter of the 2019 fiscal year (FY). This brings the total loss for the USPS to $5.9 billion for the first three quarters of FY 2019, an ugly financial performance even by their standards!
Ok, folks, rest up - there’s a lot of work to do before the end of the year. TPA has multiple reports and briefings planned during the next four months, so please be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Stay tuned for updates.
Summer Reading – Tariff Wars
The stock market has had a topsy-turvy summer thanks to the needless and destructive trade war started by President Trump. According to a recent study by researchers at the Federal Reserve, Princeton University, and Columbia University, “the full incidence of the tariff falls on domestic consumers.” The team writes, “Over the course of 2018, the U.S. experienced substantial increases in the prices of intermediates and final goods, dramatic changes to its supply-chain network, reductions in availability of imported varieties, and complete passthrough of the tariffs into domestic prices of imported goods. Overall, using standard economic methods, we find…a reduction in U.S. real income of $1.4 billion per month by the end of 2018. We also see similar patterns for foreign countries who have retaliated against the U.S., which indicates that the trade war also reduced real income for other countries.”
By this modest estimate, the average U.S. household spends more than $100 each year for increased trade taxes ostensibly making America great again. But the real figure is almost certainly higher. And, since the latest round of proposed tariffs of 10 percent on an additional $300 billion worth of goods (likely to go into effect December 15) is slated to disproportionately impact direct-to-consumer goods such as cell phones, shoes, and toys, consumers will have to pay even more per year. According to J.P. Morgan’s more inclusive estimate of tariff costs, “The tariffs Trump has already imposed on China are estimated to cost the average American household $600 per year…That will rise to $1,000 if Trump carries through on his plan to levy tariffs on another $300 billion of US imports from China.”
The good news is that lawmakers can do something about this (politically-unpopular) fiasco once getting back into session in September. Members of Congress can support legislation introduced by Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) that would make it more difficult for the president to use a “national emergency” to raise tariffs. This is of course just the tip of the iceberg, and members of Congress need to take a far more active and vocal role in opposing the president’s unilateral trade taxes.
Blogs:
Monday: Solar Roads: Another Government-Funded Energy Failure
Tuesday: Payday Loan ‘Protections’ Would Harm Millions of Struggling Americans
Wednesday: Coalition Urges FDA to Abandon “Graphic Warning Labels” for Cigarettes
Friday: Summer Reading: Tariffs
Media:
August 23, 2019: RealClearMarkets ran TPA’s op-ed, “Solar Roads: Another Government-Funded Energy Failure.”
August 26, 2019: Townhall ran TPA’s op-ed, “Tariff Tit-for-Tat Must End Now.”
August 27, 2019: Inside Sources ran TPA’s op-ed, “Venezuelan Property Rights Issue Takes Center Stage.”
August 28, 2019: The Daily Observer ran TPAF investigative reporter Johnny Kampis’ letter to the editor, “Give up on quest for broadband Lakeland.”
August 28, 2019: The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.) ran TPAF investigative reporter Johnny Kampis’ letter to the editor, “Give up on quest for broadband Lakeland.”
August 28, 2019: The St. Augustine Record (St. Augustine, Fla.) ran TPAF investigative reporter Johnny Kampis’ letter to the editor, “Give up on quest for broadband Lakeland.”
August 28, 2019: The Ocala Star-Banner (Ocala, Fla.) ran TPAF investigative reporter Johnny Kampis’ letter to the editor, “Give up on quest for broadband Lakeland.”
August 28, 2018: The Palm Beach Post (Palm Beach, Fla.) ran TPAF investigative reporter Johnny Kampis’ letter to the editor, “Give up on quest for broadband Lakeland.”
August 28, 2018: The Gainesville Sun (Gainesville, Fla.) ran TPAF investigative reporter Johnny Kampis’ letter to the editor, “Give up on quest for broadband Lakeland.”
August 28, 2019: MarylandMatters.org ran TPA’s op-ed, “Hogan Must Avoid Siren Song of Municipal Broadband.”
August 29, 2019: WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) interviewed me about education spending in Baltimore.
August 29, 2019: TPA policy director Ross Marchand appeared on “The Final Five” (Fox, Washington, D.C.) to talk about the Space Force and national defense.
Have a great weekend, and as always, thanks for your continued support.
Best,
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1401 K Street, NW
Suite 502
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx
www.protectingtaxpayers.org
