America was founded on a tax revolt. Donald Trump was elected largely because Joe Biden and the Democrats weren’t just raising taxes — they were inflating operating costs across the U.S. economy.
I believe Trump when he says he’s using tariffs strategically. However, what he underestimates is the bloated welfare state — and just how dependent America has become on entitlements.
There’s no denying the U.S. is burdened with massive unfunded liabilities. While bringing jobs back home sounds good, we can’t ignore why they left in the first place: short-sighted policies, powerful labor unions, and government-imposed price controls. One of the worst offenders is the federal minimum wage, which should be abolished.
If individual states want minimum wage laws, they should vote on them. But the federal government — especially one trying to compete with China on labor costs — has no business mandating nationwide wage floors.
When I criticize the welfare state, I’m talking about unnecessary entitlements that have no place in a competitive economy. Cutting regulations is important, but Trump’s deeper challenge is that he’s trying to preserve the welfare state while negotiating against nations who know he only has two years to deliver results.
Labor unions aren’t naive. Once foreign competition is squeezed out, they’ll drive wage demands — and consumer prices — higher based on America’s own regulatory structure. As a result, inflation is almost inevitable, and if a Democrat replaces Trump, it could accelerate even faster.
The reality is simple: Trump’s goal isn’t to dismantle the welfare state. He wants to preserve it — and tariffs, at their core, are just another form of welfare.