Tide Pens

Shresta Nibhanupudi (she/her)

Editorial Team Member

Something that is always in my purse is Tide Pens. Tide Pens are small capsules shaped like a pen filled with bleach in order to rub away stains. They are so incredibly useful and helpful, making sure that I can take away a stain with just two pumps. I wonder what else can have such an efficient effect. Bleach. Bleach has been around for decades because of its unique quality of easily getting out stubborn stains from clothing. Then what makes Tide Pens different from bleach? Nothing, except the presentation. Tide Pens are presented in a small capsule, making it easy to take on the go. Whereas bleach is presented in jugs; not very easy to travel with. In this world, there are no new ideas, just ways to present them. 

Similarly, President Trump’s tax reduction plan is only a new way to present tariffs. Tariffs have been around in the U.S. since the Tariff Act of 1789. According to news.law.fordham.edu, tariffs were created to promote trade and increase revenue for the government. However, the discovery and use of income tax negated the need for tariffs so they went away. The U.S., historically, has disliked tariffs because of the United States’ support for free trade. 

President Trump’s tax plan, plans to implement these tariffs again. He plans to impose tariffs on many imported goods in order to make up for his plan to tax-cut the upper class. His justification for these tariffs include “(1) to bring back jobs lost to foreign countries,[33] (2) to place tariffs on nations that themselves have tariffs on imports from the U.S.,[34] (3) to curb intellectual property (“IP”) theft by China,[35] and (4) to balance the trade deficit.[36]” (Holloran). However, many economists believe that the tariffs can not even compensate for the tax cuts since the smallest tax cut for the top 5% will be incredibly substantial. Many also believe that these high tariffs could cause a trade war.

This also does not increase revenue for the government itself as tariffs were originally intended. Since they are compensating for the tax cuts, the tariffs will only either keep the same revenue or decrease the revenue for the government. According to taxfoundation.org, the U.S. will go further into debt and while the GDP will originally increase from this plan, the GNP will eventually decrease. The U.S. is also predicted to go much further into debt from this plan. Contrary to President Trump's claims, “tariffs reduce the amount of revenue businesses have to compensate their workers and shareholders, resulting in a reduction in real incomes” (York, Watson, Durante, Li). 

Tariffs have been around for a very long time with the intended purpose of promoting trade and increasing revenue. However, with Trump’s new tax cuts, they will do quite the opposite by decreasing revenue astronomically and increasing the probability of trade wars. While Trump’s new plan seems very new and exciting, it is just masking the tariffs that he plans to implement. His idea is not a new one, rather just a new way to present it.