ZeroHedge Debate: Should We Abolish Income Tax and Replace It With Tariffs?

I moderated a ZeroHedge debate between PhD economists and commentators Noah Smith and Peter St Onge on President Trump’s proposal to replace income taxes with tariffs to fund the federal government. As they unpack the economic theories behind these two tax systems, they also analyze the political dynamics involved, the moral justifications for our current spending, and the nature of government itself. Noah is a former professor at Stony Brook University with a popular Substack, “Noahpinion”, and Peter is a former Fellow at the Heritage Foundation who publishes daily economics videos on X (Twitter) and YouTube.