In a recent Joe Rogan Experience episode, former President Donald Trump discussed his proposal to eliminate the federal income tax, suggesting that tariffs on imports could replace it as the primary revenue source for the U.S. government. Trump, a 2024 presidential candidate, referenced the tariff policies of former President William McKinley from the 1890s, claiming that such policies had made the U.S. so prosperous that public officials struggled to decide how to allocate the funds. “We were so rich. We had so much money. We didn’t know what to do, so they set up a blue ribbon commission on tariffs.
