BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — President Trump is continuing to float the idea of giving $2,000 tariff dividend to taxpayers excluding what the president called “high income” individuals.
In a Truth Social post Monday morning, the president continued the push for the checks saying in part, “All money left over from the $2,000 payments made to low-and middle-income USA Citizens, from the massive tariff income pouring into our country from foreign countries…will be used to substantially pay down national debt.”
“It’s good. You know, like the low-income people, you know, anything better than nothing. Immediately, I guess it’s okay. Later on, in like the grand scheme of things, how the tariffs are going to impact the economy. I’m not sure about that,” said Bakersfield resident, Jaime Pacheco.
Trump has implemented tariffs on nearly 100 countries citing that it would help bolster the United States economy.
According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the United States has collected $195 billion from the tariffs Trump has implement as well as some that were in place before he came into office.
If the president wanted to provide a $2,000 check to every American who filed for a tax return in 2024, the tariffs would need to have generated $326 billion.
Pacheco has concerns about the impact on the economy.
“When you like to look at it in a broader sense, like when you were pretty much recycling the money from like the tariff is doing a little bit more harm than good when you look at it,” said Pacheco.
Bakersfield resident, Marlene Smith, thinks the checks can go a long way.
“Some people are really in a crunch right now with utilities and ongoing bills and some of that is piling up, so it’s helping them get out of debt a little bit. So, I think it’ll be a good idea,” said Smith.
On “This Week with George Stephanopoulos”, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent was asked how feasible the stimulus checks might be.
“I haven’t spoken to the president about this yet, but you know, it could, the $2,000 dividend, could come in lots of forms and lots of ways, said the secretary. “It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president’s agenda. You know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax and Social Security deductibility of auto loans.”
President Trump is unlikely to be able to enact these checks via an executive order. He would need approval from both chambers of congress in order for the payments to take effect.
The last time American’s received checks from the federal government was back in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That package received overwhelming bipartisan support.
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