The trade war was never going to fix our deficit

The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in a case that will decide whether the president overstepped his authority by invoking an old war law to justify imposing tariffs on seemingly every country and product under the sun. Though White House lawyers changed their tune in front of the justices, up till this point, one of the administration’s defenses throughout this trade war is that these tariffs are needed because they bring in substantial revenue for the country, money that could be used to help turn the tide on Social Security’s and Medicare’s fiscal outlooks.

But whether the administration actually believes this tariff revenue is “incidental” to their larger goal, the truth is these tariffs will not alter the trajectory of our national debt or entitlement programs. In many cases,