§61 —
On the most beautiful word
Democrat
$1,100
Who pays. Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that "nearly 90 percent of the tariffs' economic burden fell on U.S. firms and consumers" 1. The Yale Budget Lab estimates household costs "about $1,100 annually under current law," with the average statutory tariff rate at 11 percent 2.
And what happened to the word in court. In February the Supreme Court held, 6 to 3, that the emergency statute behind most of the 2025 tariffs does not authorize them 3. By the end of July about $100 billion of roughly $166 billion in voided duties had been refunded, and in July customs collections ran backwards: $26 billion in, $36 billion out 4. The replacement 10 percent tariff expired on July 23 at its 150-day limit, and new tariffs under a third statute took effect the next morning 5. The most beautiful word has now been written under three laws since last spring. The $1,100 is written on one household at a time.
Sources
- "Nearly 90 percent of the tariffs' economic burden fell on U.S. firms and consumers" — Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Liberty Street Economics, 12 February 2026 ↑
- "Estimated household costs due to tariffs total about $1,100 annually under current law"; average statutory rate 11.0 percent — Yale Budget Lab, 24 August 2026 ↑
- The Supreme Court held 6–3 on 20 February 2026 that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs — Congressional Research Service, LSB11398 ↑
- July customs duties: $26 billion gross, $36 billion refunded; about $100 billion refunded of roughly $166 billion in IEEPA duties by 31 July — Fortune, reporting CBO, 10 August 2026 ↑
- The Section 122 surcharge "expired at midnight on July 23, 2026"; Section 301 tariffs of 10 or 12.5 percent took effect 24 July — Holland & Knight, July 2026 ↑
Republican
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WORD
The line, from the Economic Club of Chicago in October 2024: "To me, the world's most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariffs. It's my favorite word" 1. It was not an idle preference; it became the center of the economic program.
And on its own terms it produced money. The federal government collected $195 billion in customs duties in fiscal 2025, up from about $77 billion the year before 2. That is the strongest case for the word: a tax levied at the border that more than doubled a revenue line in a year, and gave a president one lever to pull on every trading partner at once. A favorite word that does that is not nothing. Who ends up paying it is on the other side.
Sources
“I brought the receipts, because that's what the word is, really, a receipt. Last fiscal year, a hundred ninety-five billion in customs duties, up from seventy-seven. That's the part in the speeches. Then the Fed's economists: nearly ninety percent of the burden fell on American firms and consumers. Then February, the Court. Then July: twenty-six billion collected, thirty-six billion paid back. Sorry, I'm going, I'm going — if the word is so beautiful, why did the government spend July returning it?”— Lou
“"The world's most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariffs." Customs money more than doubled last year, a hundred ninety-five billion, and he's right, that's a lot of money. Then the New York Fed looked at who paid it: nearly ninety percent Americans. Then the Supreme Court looked at the law: not allowed. Then the refunds started, and in July the customs line ran backwards. The most beautiful word in the dictionary costs you about eleven hundred dollars a year. Look it up.”
“The refunds are simply the beautiful word in reverse, which is still the beautiful word, and the eleven hundred dollars is what Americans pay for the privilege of living in a country with the world's most beautiful vocabulary.”