The issue of the President's power to use tariffs, which is currently under consideration by the Supreme Court, might cause thoughtful observers to wonder at how some Court decisions are reached. More to the point, it might cast real doubt on the notion that the Court is always seeking the good of the American people.
Remember back to how John Roberts, and the Court he is Chief Justice over, found a way to approve of the Affordable Care Act. It was challenged by arguing that it mandated individuals must do business with designated companies, which was unprecedented and without constitutional warrant. The Court agreed with the Obama administration that the ACA,(Obama Care) was not an unwarranted mandate, but was instead a tax, which during the legislative process the advocates had specifically denied.
The Roberts Court seemed to want to find a path to accept the ACA, so they bought the taxation argument, even though calling it a tax immediately rendered it unconstitutional. That is because the ACA originated in the Senate, and Article 1, section 7 of our Constitution requires that all bills to raise revenue (taxes) shall originate in the House of Representatives. Maybe the Court was guided by simple human compassion, or maybe the Roberts Court rather liked the federal government overreach that the ACA portended, but at any rate, they missed that little constitutional detail.
That was 2012, and this is 2025. America is under withering fire from all over the world, on many fronts. We are under attack economically, culturally, technologically and politically. It has gotten so bad that some foreign billionaires are financing the election of corrupt district attorneys in some American jurisdictions.
Into this fray President Donald Trump has entered, creatively and constructively using tariffs, under what he has termed an emergency, to strengthen America. Trump's approach has worked and will work to strengthen our economy. Surprisingly, he has also used tariffs to improve our position militarily, diplomatically and technologically.
But the Roberts Court is currently considering if he has overstepped his constitutional role, and should maybe have to get congressional approval for any changes in our tariff structure. Some of their questioning causes some Court observers to speculate that they will call his tariffs a tax, and rule that he must get congressional approval. One of the pointed questions seeming to lean in that direction was asking the administrations lawyer, “Who has to pay it?” That seemed to imply a tariff is a tax. The correct response to that question is that only those who want to pay it have to pay it. It is a voluntary payment. If one does not want to pay the tariff, one can choose to purchase some domestically produced version of a similar product which is not under tariff.
The point here, however, is not the validity of tariffs, but rather how and why the Court seeks certain outcomes in its rulings. America has come under increasing siege in the last few decades. Even though we are holding a hand full of aces, no one seemed to want to play those cards in a way that benefits the American people. Donald Trump has come along, and with his election as our President, found a way to play those cards aright; to mobilize our economic power in a way that strengthens the American nation. If he has to get congressional approval for every change in tariffs, it puts us at a severe disadvantage relative to some hostile, authoritarian regimes. We simply must be more flexible and supple than that to beat them at this game, especially with the kind of influence some wealthy foreign actors might exert on some members of congress.
Maybe the Court is concerned that every “i” be dotted, and every “t” be crossed, lest the American people be poorly served. Maybe, at this time, unlike in 2012, when the purposes of big government were better served without it, they have come to that stance, one that is hyper-vigilant regarding our Constitution.
Or maybe, and this is troubling to think of, some on the Court have long since come to the opinion that the time of the American people being truly self governing is over, and that we should instead, for our own good, be put under the power and control of a well disguised international fascist oligarchy. If that is the case, it might go a long way toward explaining much of the mysterious reasoning of the Roberts Court.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment