The tariffs are bringing in so much money, the president posted, that \u201ca dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Budget experts scoffed at the idea, which conjured memories of the Trump administration\u2019s short-lived plan for DOGE dividend checks<\/a> financed by billionaire Elon Musk\u2019s federal budget cuts. <\/p>\n \u201cThe numbers just don\u2019t check out,\u2033 said Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. <\/p>\n Details are scarce, including what the income limits would be and whether payments would go to children.<\/p>\n Even Trump\u2019s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, sounded a bit blindsided by the audacious dividend plan. Appearing Sunday on ABC\u2019s \u201cThis Week,\u2019’ Bessent said he hadn\u2019t discussed the dividend with the president and suggested that it might not mean that Americans would get a check from the government. Instead, Bessent said, the rebate might take the form of tax cuts.<\/p>\n The tariffs are certainly raising money \u2014 $195 billion in the budget year that ended Sept. 30, up 153% from $77 billion in fiscal 2024. But they still account for less than 4% of federal revenue and have done little to dent the federal budget deficit \u2014 a staggering $1.8 trillion in fiscal 2025.<\/p>\n Budget wonks say Trump\u2019s dividend math doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n President Donald Trump speaks during an event to mark Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo\/Evan Vucci)<\/p>\n President Donald Trump speaks during an event to mark Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo\/Evan Vucci)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n John Ricco, an analyst with the Budget Lab at Yale University, reckons that Trump\u2019s tariffs will bring in $200 billion to $300 billion a year in revenue. But a $2,000 dividend \u2014 if it went to all Americans, including children \u2014 would cost $600 billion. \u201cIt\u2019s clear that the revenue coming in would not be adequate,\u2019’ he said.<\/p>\n Ricco also noted that Trump couldn\u2019t just pay the dividends on his own. They would require legislation from Congress.<\/p>\n Moreover, the centerpiece of Trump\u2019s protectionist trade policies \u2014 double-digit taxes on imports from almost every country in the world \u2014 may not survive a legal challenge that has reached the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n