Bob analyzes President Trump's recent remarks praising the revenue capacity of tariffs. He shows that historically, tariffs only bought in a small fraction of what income taxes currently yield, meaning federal spending would have to be sharply cut in order to phase out the income tax.

HAPod Ep. 458 on Tariffs vs. Income Taxes: https://Mises.org/HAP485a
Brian Domitrovic's Forbes Article, "Supply-Siders Battle Their Tariff Critics": https://Mises.org/HAP485b
Trump on Tariffs: https://Mises.org/HAP485c
The Chart Shown in this Episode: https://Mises.org/HAP485d

The Human Action Podcast

Would Trump's Plan to Replace Income Tax with Tariffs Work?

Mark Thornton explores the psychology and economics of extractive industries, from mining to energy production. Despite their crucial role in advancing civilization—providing everything from metals to fuel—these industries are now vilified, especially by younger generations influenced by environmentalist ideology. But what are the real economic consequences of restricting resource development? How does political interference in mining and energy affect future supply, prices, and investment opportunities? Tune in as Mark breaks down the myths, the propaganda, and the financial reality behind one of the most misunderstood sectors of the economy.

Be sure to follow Minor Issues at Mises.org/MinorIssues

Extractive Psychology

Does the US government need a gold reserve? No, it doesn’t. The government’s gold is basically an emergency slush fund for elites to use to preserve their political power.

Citation: “What share for gold? On the interaction of gold and foreign exchange reserve returns” by Omar Zulaica, BIS Working Papers, No. 906: bis.org/publ/work906.pdf

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Why the Government’s Gold Reserve Is a Bad Thing

President Trump has indicated that a recession could be coming and the pundits are playing the blame game. Don‘t look to anyone in Washington for a coherent explanation for the downturn, however. Look to the Austrians instead.

Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/who-gets-blame-upcoming-recession

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Who Gets the Blame for the Upcoming Recession?

Ryan McMaken and economist Jonathan Newman look at the government's alleged $750 billion gold reserve, how it got there, and why it's time to privatize the gold. 

Register for our "Revisionist History of War Conference" now at https://mises.org/RHW

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Gold, Money, and the Nation-State

Politicians love to promise "fairer" and "simpler" tax reform, but the reality is that every tax system is built on force and distortion. In this talk, Lew Rockwell dismantles the myth that taxation can ever be neutral, efficient, or morally justified. Whether it’s a flat tax, consumption tax, or a restructured income tax, every scheme still funnels trillions into the hands of bureaucrats while crushing productivity and personal freedom. Instead of searching for a "better" way to take your money, Rockwell asks the real question: Why should the government take it at all?

Recorded on 15 January 2005 at The Trouble with Taxation Conference, Charlottesville, Virginia.

The Dangers of Tax Reform

The Civil War is often framed as a moral struggle over slavery, but what if economic control was the real driving force? In this lecture, historian Thomas DiLorenzo challenges the mainstream narrative, arguing that Lincoln’s true priority was preserving federal tariff revenues rather than ending slavery. By tracing how tariffs fueled sectional tensions, DiLorenzo exposes how Northern industrialists benefited from protectionism at the South’s expense—and how Lincoln’s war ensured the federal government’s economic dominance. Was the war really about union and emancipation, or was it a fight to maintain Washington’s grip on the economy?

Lecture 1 of 10 from the Steven Berger Seminar: Thomas DiLorenzo on Liberty and American Civilization.

Lincoln's Tariff War

The economy is teetering on the edge, and the Federal Reserve’s reckless policies have only made things worse. In this episode, Mark Thornton joins Scott Horton to break down the boom-bust cycle, why inflation isn’t going away anytime soon, and how the Fed’s interventions set us up for even bigger economic disasters. Are we headed for a deep recession, or is something even worse on the horizon? Mark explains the hard truths about interest rates, government debt, and why the next crisis may be the biggest yet.

Catch the Scott Horton Show at https://ScottHorton.org

Be sure to follow Minor Issues at Mises.org/MinorIssues

The Precarious State of the American Economy

One of the common worries about a hard money like gold or Bitcoin is that large price deflation could make lending and investment impossible because nominal interest rates can't go below 0%. Bob explains why these fears are invalid.

The Charts Used in This Episode Can Be Viewed Here: https://Mises.org/HAP491a

Why Price Deflation Doesn't Hinder Investment

While the Trump administration claims it is breaking with the policies of Joe Biden, it is continuing US attacks on the Houthis of Yemen supported by the previous president.

Read the article here: https://mises.org/mises-wire/trump-adopts-democrats-terrible-yemen-policy

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Trump Adopts the Democrats’ Terrible Yemen Policy

Our current paper fiat money system comes from a long process of building up state power that destroyed private money, ended truly private banking, and abolished the market system of competing currencies. It took 300 years, and we are now facing the inflationary results.

Register for our "Revisionist History of War Conference" now at https://mises.org/RHW

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The Rise of the State and the End of Private Money

The Mises Institute, founded in 1982, is an educational institution devoted to advancing Austrian economics, freedom, and peace in the classical-liberal tradition. Our website offers many thousands of free books and thousands of hours of audio and video, along with the full run of rare journals, biographies, and bibliographies of great economists.

Would Trump's Plan to Replace Income Tax with Tariffs Work?

Mises Institute

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