Any ideas?

Into the Night said:
Yes...tariffs have worked before and they will again. See the Constitution. Only Congress can authorize any spending by the government.
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From the founding of the United States until the early 20th century, tariffs (customs duties on imports) were the federal government's primary revenue source, often accounting for 80–95% of total federal income before the Civil War and around 50% afterward until the income tax became dominant.

This system was entirely consistent with the Constitution's reservation of the "power of the purse" to Congress, because Congress — not the executive branch — directly set tariff rates through legislation.

The U.S. Constitution explicitly grants Congress the authority to impose tariffs in Article I, Section 8: "The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises..." (with the requirement that they be uniform across the states).

The system persisted until 1913, when the 16th Amendment authorized a federal income tax, and the Underwood Tariff dramatically lowered rates while shifting revenue burdens.

Only later (starting in the 1930s) did Congress begin delegating limited tariff-adjustment authority to the president for trade negotiations or specific emergencies, but in the era when tariffs funded "almost entirely" the government, Congress exercised direct control.

Could the US theoretically return to at least partially funding itself with tariff proceeds Constitutionally?

Yes — 100% constitutionally, and with zero need for any new amendment.Congress already possesses plenary (absolute) power over tariffs under Article I, Section 8: “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises……to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations…”Every single tariff in U.S. history from 1789 to 1934 was enacted by ordinary statute, not by treaty or executive action. Congress can therefore:
  1. Pass a new tariff act tomorrow that raises average duties to 10%, 20%, 40%, or even 100% on whatever categories it wants.
    → Done it before: Tariff of 1828 averaged ~50%, McKinley 1890 ~48%, Fordney-McCumber 1922 ~38%.
  2. Repeal or ignore every delegation of tariff authority it has ever given the President (Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act 1934, Trade Expansion Act 1962, Trade Act 1974, etc.).
    → Those were voluntary delegations; Congress can revoke them at any time with a simple majority in both houses and a presidential signature (or veto override).
  3. Make the tariffs purely revenue-raising (no protectionist intent required). The Supreme Court has never struck down a tariff on the ground that it raised “too much” money or was meant only for revenue.
  4. Direct that every penny collected go straight into the general fund, exactly as in 1789–1913.
The only constitutional limits that do exist are tiny and irrelevant here:
  • Duties must be uniform throughout the United States (Art. I §8) → easy, just apply the same rate everywhere.
  • No export duties (Art. I §9 cl. 5) → but import duties are unlimited.
  • Ports can’t be favored over others → again, trivial to satisfy.
That’s it.

So if Congress reconvened tomorrow and passed “The American Revenue Tariff of 2026” that slapped 25% on everything from China, 15% on the EU, 10% on Canada/Mexico, and 5% on everyone else, the bill would become law exactly the same way the Tariff of 1789 did — and the Treasury would start collecting billions the day it took effect.

Perfectly constitutional, no amendments needed, no treaties required, no delegation necessary.
 
Diogenes said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1987068069706072071
View: https://x.com/AntiWokeMemes/status/1987068069706072071?s=20
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Flakturm. (In English: Flak Tower)

ae6e8050dc1505cf8c79e8853f90ed56--flak-tower.jpg
 
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