The recent budget resolution passed by the House of Representatives, with a razor-thin margin, has stirred unease among conservatives, primarily due to the familiar “devil’s bargain” within the legislation. Backed by President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), this resolution includes a hefty $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over the next decade. However, it also proposes a $2 trillion cut in spending, coupled with a $4 trillion increase in the national debt ceiling. On the surface, these measures seem aimed at providing short-term relief, yet they ultimately enable the same unsustainable spending spree that has plagued the US fiscal landscape for years.

At the heart of this debate is the idea that, while the national debt and government spending are critical issues that need to be addressed, any lasting solution must begin with the restoration of America’s industrial base. When the nation’s industrial sector is hollowed out, the economy becomes overly reliant on consumer-driven growth, a model sustained by mounting debt. This has been the case since the signing of NAFTA under President Bill Clinton, and it has only deepened in the subsequent decades. Rather than securing the country’s long-term economic stability, policy after policy has sought to enable consumer desires at the expense of building structural resilience.

For President Trump, however, there exists a critical tool that could help reestablish the United States as a global industrial powerhouse: the tariff. Though many corporate elites have denounced tariffs as an affront to the “free market” ideology they hold sacred, tariffs remain a powerful lever to redress the imbalances that have arisen in global trade. While some argue that tariffs may limit the wealth of a select few, it is the collective benefit of a prosperous,........

© Blitz