According to CNN, here, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is “promising” a tariff dividend to households making less than $100,000 per year. In 2024, this was 57.3% of households. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, here, as of Nov. 12, 2024, there are about 132.2 million household in the US. This means about 74.67 million households earn less than $100,000. Giving each of them $2,000 would require about $149.3 Billion, plus enough for logistics and overhead.
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According to the Wall Street Journal, here, “The U.S. has collected tens of billions of dollars in tariffs.”
The Journal also quotes Pres. Trump, on Truth Social, saying,
People that are against tariffs are fools! We are now the richest, most respected country in the world, with almost no inflation, and a record stock market price.”
“A dividend of at least $2000 per person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.”
The current rate of inflation, as of September, 2025, is 3.00%, according to “USA Facts,” here, and based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS, here, which also states that inflation was up 0.3% in September. I’m not an economist, but 3% inflation is not “almost no inflation.”
Now, let’s do the math.