this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2026

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309

Corporate America got billions of dollars in tariff refunds. Where’s your cut? | CNN Business (www.cnn.com)

submitted 1 day ago by VioletTea@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

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[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 3 points 5 hours ago

All consumer fines should go into the America First Fund (irony intended), to be the seed money for all the Social programs we need to implement.

Billionaire and corporate fines should start at $1 billion per count, no matter how small the infraction, with money going to the America First Fund. Companies that have behaved particularly egregiously should be confiscated, and operated with the profits going to the America First Fund, and their owners stripped of their fortunes. Those who have been punished in such a manner will not be allowed to access the benefits of the AAF, they have lost those privileges of our society. In the future, the only destitute people in America will be formerly bad behaving Sociopathic Oligarchs. When you see a homeless person on the side of the road, you will know they are former billionaire shitheads, who EARNED their homelessness through their Sociopathic behavior.

The AAF will stand alongside the Dow, and be discussed on the evening news. When they announce the daily results of the Dow, S&P, and NASDAQ for the wealthy, they will also announce the AAF, for the Citizens, and to daily remind the wealthy that's where their fortunes are destined if they don't operate their businesses to benefit society.

Those fines belong to the Citizens, and should directly benefit the Citizens.

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 3 points 6 hours ago

Corporate america is more powerful than the government and the people. Why would they give you a cut? Do you not know about "shareholders" (the real scourge).

[–] undefined@lemmy.hogru.ch 13 points 17 hours ago

Where is your cut?

Fucking hilarious, why would any taxpayer in the US ever expect a “cut?” The money is gone bro.

[–] neuracnu@lemmy.blahaj.zone 44 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (1 children)

tl;dr: You don't get one.

Why? Several reasons:

The companies you purchased from aren't legally required to,
The accounting would be difficult,
Companies can easily claim they never increased prices in the first place (eating the cost), and
Companies pinky-swear to "pass the savings on to you" in the future.

[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 8 hours ago

The entire country is literally a scam.

[–] switcheroo@lemmy.world 22 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

WE PAID THE TARRIFS AND WE PAID FOR THE REFUNDS

[–] daychilde@lemmy.world -2 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (3 children)

I keep hearing that, but I don't think it's true. Companies did pay money to the government, and now that money is being refunded to the companies.

The consumers get screwed, of course, but I think it's a single screwing, not a double one. Unless someone can show me something where companies are getting money they didn't pay out in the first place.

Edit: downvote but not tell me how you think we paid twice? Nice.

[–] fyzzlefry@retrolemmy.com 2 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

Are you saying prices didn't go up?

[–] daychilde@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

No. Dork. That is the money we paid.

We paid it once in higher prices. Not twice like claimed that I replied to.

[–] SGG@lemmy.world 3 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

The wording I would say is correct more than it is wrong.

Companies did pay tariffs directly, and because of this I would say nearly all increased consumer pricing for effected goods, so indirectly people paid for those tariffs.

With the refunds going out, while ideally it would be a simple refund, the cost is performing the refunds (in man hours and potential transaction fees) which is the additional cost to taxpayers.

I would also say the number of companies deciding to send those refunds on to consumers is extremely low, they're just keeping the refund.

So it is definitely not regular people being "double dipped", which is what the original line may imply, but yeah, it's seemingly been used as a way for companies to make extra profit from people at the taxpayers expense.

[–] daychilde@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

The wording I would say is correct more than it is wrong.

This wording? The wording I replied to:

WE PAID THE TARRIFS AND WE PAID FOR THE REFUNDS

People absolutely paid for the tariffs in increased pricing.

The ovehead of the refunds would be insignificant.

The companies don't have to send any money to consumers to cancel us paying twice, because we paid once in high prices. If they hold on to the refunds, we will have still only paid once...... with higher prices.

So it is definitely not regular people being “double dipped”, which is what the original line may imply,

So basically, what I said you don't even disagree with. And yet I got downvotes. Lemmy is quite irritating. People seem to prefer emotions over facts.

[–] Corgwn@programming.dev 2 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

The revenue created by the tariffs was used as justification for legislation like the One Bill Ugly Bill as well. The double dip is that after everything, consumers have both less cash now and the growth of the federal deficit was accelerated even further. That, at the end of the day, is taxpayer money which will have to fill in that gap unless we find a way to magically disappear all our debt.

[–] daychilde@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

Great points.

Not what I replied to, which AS A REMINDER was:

WE PAID THE TARRIFS AND WE PAID FOR THE REFUNDS

So again, you are another person replying that has not addressed the point I actually made to the comment to which I replied.

[–] bradinutah@thelemmy.club 32 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Another reason to vote Blue in November. Hold R Senators and House Reps accountable for this and vote against them! They have enabled this grift.

[–] SippyCup@lemmy.world 20 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Primary any Democrats unwilling to go hard for working class tax relief, true universal healthcare, paid parental leave, and prosecuting every person on the Epstein list. Bonus points if they condemn genocide in Palestine.

Accept nothing less.

[–] Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 20 hours ago

Getting late in the primary season for that one.

[–] Garbagio@lemmy.zip 7 points 18 hours ago

... Says Second Largest Main Stream Media Conglomerate to Sane-wash Trump for over a Decade

[–] henfredemars@infosec.pub 3 points 23 hours ago

That’s the neat part!

[–] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Why are people still posting cnn

[–] ScoffingLizard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 15 hours ago

I don't know. It's as much state-owned fascist crap as Fox News. I haven't clicked on it since Trump was elected. People say it's left wing but that is bullshit.