The Trump Tariffs Are Illegal, But For How long?
An appellate court has ruled that many of President Trump’s tariffs are illegal, and as the economic seesaw continues, are you feeling liberated yet? I believe I am, at least for now.
Your Checking Account Doesn’t Lie About the Economy and How It’s Doing
Do you feel liberated? It’s a simple yet powerful question, especially when you consider the current economic climate. A recent report from Moody’s top analyst, Mark Zandi, suggests that one-third of the country is already feeling the effects of a recession.
My home state, Florida, along with Texas, is getting hit hard by a mix of tariffs and immigration policies. The price of orange juice is at an all-time high, and even legal agricultural workers with H-2A visas aren’t showing up. Why would they, when they see people being thrown into Alligator Alley for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time? It’s all affecting the economy.
But despite all of this, and all the economic signs pointing in the wrong direction, I feel liberated. Why? Because the truth is finally sinking in for a lot of people. The economics are undeniable, and at the end of the day, this affects everyone.
Debunking the Tariff Myth
A popular lie, if not misinformation or disinformation, on social media is that consumers don’t pay for tariffs. This makes zero sense. I always ask a simple question: If it costs you $10 to bring a product in, would you sell it for $10? Of course not. You’d sell it for $11 to make a profit. It’s a basic business principle.
If tariffs add $1 to that product, would you continue selling it for $10? You could, and in a month, you’re scheduling your first consultation with a bankruptcy lawyer.
Then these tariff lovers argue that big companies should “eat the tariffs.” This idea is just as flawed. If it used to cost a business $10 to bring a product in and now it costs them $11, they can’t continue to sell it for $10. Not for long, anyway.
A company’s board of directors has a legal and ethical obligation to make money for its shareholders. If they absorb the cost of tariffs, they’re losing money, shareholders lose money, and eventually, that board is gone. They will get voted out. The idea that this is a sustainable business model is just not grounded in reality.
Tariffs and other economic policies, such as immigration, have a cascading, or “snowball,” effect. We’re seeing it in states that rely on tourism. Las Vegas is getting hammered with a low occupancy rate. New York and Southwest Florida, which depend on Canadian visitors, are feeling the effects of fewer tourists. People are holding onto their money or choosing to go elsewhere, or go nowhere at all.
But it’s not just tourism. The shortage of agricultural workers in my state means higher prices for oranges, and countries like Canada aren’t skipping Florida when it comes to their orange juice. These are real, tangible effects that reach all the way down to your local grocery store.
Your Wallet Doesn’t Care About Politics
This is the part that people seem to be skipping over: the economy doesn’t care about your politics. You can be on the right or the left, a supporter or a critic, it doesn’t matter. You’re going to pay the exact same price for that cup of coffee, that TV, or that banana that your political opposite is paying for. Ignorance may be bliss, but your bank account will disagree with you.
In 2016, Miami was an outlier. My income dropped like a bowling ball falling off a table. The only explanation that made sense came from an immigration attorney who told me his clients (immigrants) were used to radical shifts in government policy and were holding onto their money. They knew a boom-and-bust cycle when they saw one, and they held back on spending. Back then, it felt like Miami was alone in its struggles.
That’s not the case anymore. The economic uncertainty we’re seeing today is widespread. We’re all in this together, and that’s why I feel liberated, because the division I can’t stand or understand is finally being broken down by a shared economic reality. But again, just understand the us-versus-them mentality means nothing to the grocery store. Whether it’s us or them, each side pays exactly the same price.
We only learn from our mistakes, and tariffs are a mistake. I listen to top economists and global financial firms who look at the data and say, “This is the evidence, and this is where the evidence is taking us.” Just like a detective follows the evidence, we must follow the evidence of our own finances. If you want to believe one person is right and everyone else is wrong, as my buddy in law school would say, “It’s your constitutional right.”
Just like it is your “constitutional right” to believe all the lies about tariffs and the job market. For example, “trillions” of dollars have been collected, and the job market is doing great. Your eyes don’t lie. Your checking account doesn’t lie. And if you’re seeing your income drop while prices go up, that’s not a political issue, it’s a financial one.
The Trump Tariffs Have Been Ruled Illegal (For Now)
On August 29, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled 7–4 that President Trump’s sweeping tariffs violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The appellate court held that Congress has the constitutional authority to impose tariffs, not the President. What happens now that the appellate court ruled that many of the Trump tariffs are illegal?
The Trump administration filed an expedited petition, and as comes as no surprise, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case during its first week of the November session. But, here’s my concern: this is the same Supreme Court that the conservative majority said during their confirmation hearings that Roe v. Wade was established precedent, and they turned around and overruled themselves.
This is the same Supreme Court that gave the President the power to do basically anything, and now, that Supreme Court, which has folded one too many times for the President and has legal scholars scratching their heads as well as federal appellate judges, will ultimately decide the fate of the U.S. and global economy. Needless to say, I’m not feeling confident that the Trump tariffs will be illegal for much longer.
Can the U.S. Supreme Court crash the economy? In my opinion, yes!
When Economic Reality Hits Home
This is why it’s so critical to be informed, and whether the Trump tariffs remain illegal is another example. You can’t let politics live rent-free in your head while your wallet is being liberated from its money.
Economic policy, good or bad, has a direct impact on personal finances. A struggling economy, rising prices, and loss of income are the very things that lead people to the brink of financial disaster. And when the bills get too high and the stress becomes too great, maybe then you will realize we are all in this together.
If you’re struggling to make ends meet, that’s not a political statement; it’s a sign of the economy. Your checking account doesn’t lie. If you don’t believe me, write a check for an amount that exceeds your checking account balance. Let me know what happens.
One more thing, in the “old days,” you would be penalized less for that bounced check. That’s a thing of the past. But you can ask these two guys why this happened.
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Please note that the information on this site does not constitute legal advice and should be considered for informational purposes only.
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