Fascism in the Tariff Cornfield

Coercive Tax Policy

Tax policy is a tool for electeds to secure campaign resources from those businesses and industries benefiting from said policy. The cliche view sees electeds serving donors —billionaires fund Trump and his Congress’ election to get those sweet tax break carrots from servile legislators. But there is a stick side to tax policy as well. For instance, periodic massive tax law overhauls can be seen as legislatures reasserting themselves, wiping tax break slate clean to then slowly dole them back out to business for continued support. Or just keeping tax subsidies temporary so industries tithe consistently to maintain them.

But Trump’s tariff policy is much more coercive, and this point should be our focus— it is either bend the knee to Trump or your business will be ruined by tariffs. It is a “You have a nice industry here, it’d be a shame if anything happened to it” policy. Bezos baring the Washington Post’s Harris endorsement is a sign of this. Trump does not care about tariffs, he wants the hammer tariffs gives him and doesn’t care about any collateral damage to the U.S. and, much less so, the world’s economy. We move from simple legislative extortion that ensures a study flow of campaign resources into a new era of brute force, personal vendetta and domination.

The Tariff Cornfield

Trump and tariffs are like Anthony, the 6 year boy from small town Peaksville, Ohio in the Twilight Zone classic “It’s a Good Life.” Little Anthony can read minds, reshape reality and wish people into the “cornfield” i.e. nonexistence, or visit some other horror on them if displeased.

The remaining Peaksville adults strive to make the boy happy. They smile all the time. Think happy thoughts. Always agree that Anthony is right about everything. All to avoid the cornfield or being turned into a jack-in-the-box. Anthony is arbitrary, tempermental and all-powerful, but possesing the moral development of a six year old who never had to live with the word no.

Trump will use his tariff powers in just as arbitrary and tempermental manner, with little concern beyond what a 6 year old could muster. Trump tariffs will be dispensed with an apparent arbitrariness that would make Caligula’s head spin. But there will be a unifying principal—who has displeased me today?

What is not 6 year old is that Trump has an appetite for power. Anthony just went from moment to moment and was not seeking some organized domination, because that is not relevant to a child. But Trump understands if someone is afraid of him, he has power over them. And if you have no idea what will set Trump off, you will be afraid of everything he might see or hear.

And the most lily-livered people in our world are business people. They understand domination, because they do it employees everyday, but are so susceptible to it as well. A business is not a principle to stand for, but an engine for profit, and capitalists want those profits, so they will smile, nod to Trump, always agree, and think happy thoughts. And some will take on a more active role in what is to come, so they can persuade Trump to wish other people into the tariff cornfield to increase their profits.

So businesses, like the Peaksville adults, will work hard to make Trump happy, just to keep out of the tariff cornfield, or put others in it. Trump’s tariffs are in no way a fiscal policy, but are a tool to secure compliance or collaboration from business elites. A state of affairs otherwise known as an integral part of fascism.