We all agree on taxes
One thing we can all agree on is that we all hate taxes. If Donald Trump is elected President, he promises to abolish the income tax and replace it with tariffs on all imported goods. On the surface, this might look very appealing. However, if we dig deeper, this proposal is an absolute trainwreck for our economy and the middle class.
If the U.S. imposes tariffs on all imported goods, certain things are guaranteed to happen:
- Foreign nations will retaliate, making U.S. products uncompetitive in their markets; 12% of our GDP and 40 million American jobs depend on exports.
- Prices on all goods, imported and domestic, will skyrocket. If we impose a 20% tariff on imported goods, domestic producers can raise their prices 10-15% and still have a price advantage over imported products.
- The U.S. Treasury will suffer a huge shortfall because tariff revenues will be much lower than the current tax revenues. This will put every government-provided service at risk.
- The wealthy and ultra-wealthy will make out like bandits because they spend a much smaller portion of their income on goods and products. The poor and the middle class will suffer disproportionately.
Please recall what happened in 2018 when Trump imposed a 25% tariff on all products imported from China (“Trade wars are easy to win.”) China retaliated, imposing a tariff on American products. This devastated our agricultural sector which depended heavily on exports to China. Because farmers were a critical voting bloc for Trump’s re-election bid, he spent billions of tax dollars to bail-out farmers.
As taxpayers, we bailed him out. We cannot afford another four years of Trump’s recklessness and gross financial incompetence.
— Peter Birschbach, Port Royal
Has he no empathy?
It is almost incomprehensible to understand Gov. McMaster’s argument for not expanding Medicaid. To say he is unconvinced that the expansion is necessary or that it is fiscally responsible is to ignore the fact that research has shown that expansion would create 20,000 jobs in South Carolina and give 360,000 of our citizens healthcare coverage, while adding $4 billion in economic benefit. What possible lucid explanation can he give for this appalling ignorance?
His lack of empathy for our citizens who are being deprived of healthcare insurance, his lack of concern for our hospitals and medical providers, his lack of understanding of how this benefit can help our state makes one wonder about his overall competence. Or is he simply a Trump lackey who cares for no one but himself?
— Barbara Temple, Beaufort
Thank you for your journalism
I very much appreciated you printing the Statehouse piece about “Project 2025.” You just demonstrated the importance of the “Fourth Estate” in its role to help inform the public that they may then act in defense of our republic!
You have planted seeds of knowledge that will help protect us all, and perhaps turn some citizenry away from the misinformation that has warped their path to the truth. Kudos. Thanks.
— Tim Dodds, Lady’s Island
Thank you
I want to thank you and your weekly columnist, Larry Dandridge, for your tenacious pursuit of accurate information on behalf of veterans. In a world where fake stories and misinformation masquerade as real, you are beacons of light and truth.
Larry’s articles on veterans’ benefits are being shared all over the U.S., helping military members, veterans, and their families better understand their state and federal veterans’ benefits and how to apply for them. Thank you.
— Jeff Jacobs, Isle of Palms
