Posts like this show how economic messaging has become central to politics. At the end of the day, most people just want affordability and clarity about who’s responsible for what.
this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2026
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1992, a Clinton campaign catchphrase was, "It's the economy, stupid" and the New Deal in 1933 was about "economic messaging". In 1890 Republicans lost big time in part due to the McKinley tariffs. Economic messaging in the U.S. has been central to politics for far longer than living memory.
The Supreme Court actually ruled that it must be given back. Who does it go to?
The corporations who 'paid it'. Not the people who paid the increased price but the companies who paid the tariff. So hundreds of companies are about to get a massive influx of money, once again courtesy of the American taxpayers.
Are you winning yet, America?
Whoever paid the customs duty. Importers, wholesalers, etc. They may have language in their contracts which requires price easing, rebates, or even pay packs to their customers in an event like this. Those commercial sellers are unlikely to pass the refund any further (if they get any money at all).
How is this a meme?
Hmmm. Class action lawsuit? Can you do that against the government?
It's happened in the past, but believe the government has to agree to be sued.
They sorta have to agree (because of sovereign immunity). But there are laws like the Tucker Act and the Administrative Procedure Act that already (probably) pave the way for this lawsuit. Additionally, if the government is acting outside statutory authority (ultra vires), sovereign immunity doesn't protect the same way.
Also, this would almost certainly be heard in the U.S. Court of International Trade, which deals with tariffs and the like, and has its own rules and such. So... it's complicated?
Oh it's much worse than the way Newsom sanitizes it here. Trump's plan is to personally steal billions from us by sending that tariff revenue to his mock UN "Board of Peace" outside US law, which then gives it directly to him.
The refund isn't for us. It's for his buddies that pre purchased the right to collect those refunds with significant windfalls on both sides of the transaction.
Maybe I'm starting to think that those right-libertarians may have a point about taxation. I still support paying taxes to the IRS and such, though.
ur telling me taxing Switzerland for having a Woman president isn't a national emergency? Did I mention her voice was bitchy and she was a womans?
General strike on paying your taxes.
Is taxation theft to you?
If it's paying for Nazis to curb stomp citizen's rights granted by the Constitution, while depriving us of the services our tax dollars pay for, while cutting the taxes of folks who will never want for anything in life‽ Fucking absolutely against them. My tax dollars are not the Nazis slush fund for concentration camps.
When the federal government is illegally withholding funding for programs in blue states, justified based on Fox News fever dreams? Yes, taxation is literally theft. That's the definition of theft - having money taken from you by force without receiving fair compensation in return. This is the federal government behaving less like an elected government responsible to the people and more like an occupying army. We're seeing the federal government morph into a tribute empire, where red states militarily occupy and collect tribute from the blue states. The only difference between taxes and tribute is whether you get your share of the money back. When funds are being illegally held for political reasons? You're damn right taxation is theft.
I applied for a federal job, was given an offer, and had that offer revoked because of Trump’s EO against trans people. This government is actively hostile to my existence and provides me little in return, so yes.
Tariffs certainly are.
Is this where trickle down economics is supposed to work?
As the companies that receive refunds will pass the money onto the customers who paid them?
The only things that trickle down are piss, shit and debt.
Best guess is that some corporations might get a refund since they paid the tariffs and they will pocket the money.
It's even funnier than that. People connected to Trump bought rights to get refunds from corporation a year ago for cents on the dollar. Now they will make billions.
I've seen this mentioned a few times on Lemmy but can't find any articles talking about this. Do you have a source? It sounds very believable, but I want to make sure it's true before I start telling people.
Specifically the son of Epstein-file regular and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick. The very same commerce secretary who came up with the tariffs to begin with, but it's completely fine, cause it's not him doing it, it's just his son
Hang on, please tell me there should be a /s at the end of your comment
All the states should sue, then kicker us back the amount at tax time.
Except the welfare red states.
If you paid the tarrif directly to the government then you have a chance for a refund. If you paid for higher prices that were passed onto us don't hold your breath for that refund.
wouldn't holding your breath that long kill you?
That's just propaganda by Big Breathing. You have enough oxygen in your body to last you for the rest of your life!
I love the sound of that.
But it isn't happening. Corporations will get a refund. People will not, and the prices will remain elevated.
BINGO! Once prices go up corporations are not going to drop them. They’ve seen people can pay it and that’s now the new threshold.
It’s a saddening truth.
Just like when many of them nearly doubled prices during those few months of super high inflation a couple years ago. No idea how people just accepted that month or two of 9% inflation somehow meant 150% prices are justified.
I'm kind of tired of this "acceptance" of loss. Like, I get it, I don't think it's incorrect. It's just at a certain point I think it becomes a means of a collective justification for inaction. In the same way that this fake shit from Newsom serves the same purpose of inaction.
It feels like the peasants of feudalism just accepting that their share of crop is getting reduced. "Welp, guess we'll just eat less this winter. Hope Timmy survives the cold".
I guess I'm looking for this same comment but with rage and anger. The passive doomerism needs to go. Us peasants need to be talking about the best methods for sharpening our pitchforks with every inch of crop they take from us.
At the end up the day. This "truth" is only true for as long as we allow it to be. We should remember that and repeat that truth with every inch they take.
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Ironically, that is exactly what would happen with Gavin Newsom if he won presidency in even a far cry of a free and fair election.
Gavin Newsom is fighting a billionaire wealth tax in Cali right fucking now. He's shut down universal healthcare in Cali when he had a chance.
We can do better than this scumfuck asshole who believes in nothing. Remember that during the primaries people.
We really do need people to participate in the primaries in 2 years.
That said, if he wins the primary then I'm going door to door to promote his ass.
I get it. I wouldn't, at least not outside of voting for the lesser evil. It'd be disingenuous for me to believe this isn't just going to exacerbate all the reasons that led to Trump taking power to begin with.
Assuming he won in that scenario, I think I'd use the next 4 years to leave the country and try to live where a progressive democracy and the rule of law actually matters; personally of course.
Go for it, and good luck.
Oh, so now the guy who has promised to veto a billionaire tax is a populist?
Yes but the refund is to the businesses that passed the cost of the tariffs on to the consumers.
It's actually going to businesses that purchased tarrif refund rights packages from Howard Lutnick (Trump's commerce secretary) and his sons. No joke, look it up.
And now the businesses get to profit from artificially inflated prices. Isn't capitalism amazing!
You know, I don't even care about that. What I do care about is billionaires who have been stealing our wages and wealth for decades. We need a fair living wage, $20/hr at a base minimum ($15/hr in 2015 with inflation is now $20/hr), and it should be more than that.
I'm tired of the oligarchs skimming off our wealth to enrich themselves, leaving most of us barely managing to get by. I'm fucking sick of it.
Refund Trump's tariff bullshit? Sure, fine, that's not a bad start, but that's a drop in the damn bucket.
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Except that money is already gone.
Concentration camps. Ice agents.
Don't forget. Just giving himself a $10 billion paycheck
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