Levi is a big a$$hole.
“the USA, from 1787 thru 1913, funded the government with tariffs and there was no income tax. Did you even know that?”
Yes, I knew that.
“The USA during that time period experienced unparalleled dynamic economic industrial development.”
Despite tariffs, not because of them. International trade was a tiny percentage of economy then, partly because we had oceans between us and other economic powers. By the way, growth in England was faster during that time frame of the industrial revolution and the height of the British Empire. So US economic growth was patently not “unparalleled” before 1913.
“We’d be so lucky to ditch the income tax and go back to the tariff.”
The US budget is about $4 Trillion per year, and additional major liabilities like Social Security and Medicare are managed off budget. The total of US imports from all sources is about $2.4 trillion, so well over 100% tariffs would be needed on everything, for your madcap proposal - even if the the Government first eliminated all discretionary spending (which would include the entire defense budget).
From a strictly mathematical perspective, tariffs of more than 100% would reasonably qualify as “a strong distorting effect on prices”, which you dismissed as “a crock of poo poo”.
As an example of inefficiencies, oil constitutes about 1/10th of the total dollar value of our imports (half of the oil we use). More than doubling it’s price would make American petroleum derivative products like asphalt, fabrics, paint, plastics and fertilizers uncompetitive, in addition to its direct effects on motorists, truckers, airlines and electricity prices. Less desirable substitutions would have to be made, and otherwise profitable businesses would have to be shut.
“Levi is a big a$$hole.”
OK, I’ll bite. Who is Levi?