Outrage Grows Over Cowardly Silence as Tariffs Threaten Recession
A Constitutional Abdication
Economic Suicide by Tariff
Cheerleaders, Not Leaders
Make Them Feel It
Outrage Grows Over Cowardly Silence as Tariffs Threaten Recession
America is sleepwalking into economic disaster, and Congress is holding the door wide open.
This week, the Trump Administration unilaterally imposed sweeping new tariffs, again. And once more, Congress stood by and did absolutely nothing. No debate. No vote. No accountability.
Tariffs are taxes. They raise prices on imported goods, disrupt supply chains, and saddle working Americans with higher costs at the register. We’ve been here before. History tells us where this road leads: runaway inflation, stalled growth, lost jobs: *stagflation*. That’s not a prediction, it’s a playbook. Yet Congress just shrugged and handed the pen to the president.
A Constitutional Abdication
Tariffs aren't just bad economics—they're also a dangerous power grab. Under Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, only Congress has the power to levy taxes and duties. It was designed that way for a reason: to keep the power to raise revenue in the hands of elected representatives, not the executive branch.
But somewhere along the way, Congress got lazy, or worse, complicit. Over decades, they’ve handed over more and more authority to the White House, passing vague laws that allow the president to slap tariffs on just about anything by simply citing “national security” or “economic emergency.” It’s cowardice wrapped in legislative loopholes.
This latest round of Trump tariffs shows just how far we’ve fallen. The president didn’t have to consult anyone. He didn’t need Congressional approval. He simply declared it, and it was done.
And Congress? Silent.
This isn’t about whether you support Trump or not. It’s about whether you support democracy.
Economic Suicide by Tariff
Let’s be clear: these tariffs are a disaster in the making.
They will raise prices on everything from cars to clothes to groceries. Businesses that rely on global supply chains will be hit with higher costs, leading to layoffs and slower hiring. Inflation, already rising, will spike. The Federal Reserve will be forced to keep interest rates high to fight it, choking off investment and growth.
What do you get when prices go up, but the economy slows down?
Stagflation - the nightmare scenario. And Congress is letting it happen without lifting a finger.
Even if you believe some tariffs are necessary to protect U.S. industries, that’s a debate worth having. In Congress. Out in the open. With transparency, accountability, and input from the American people.
That’s the job they were elected to do.
Cheerleaders, Not Leaders
Instead, what do we get? Congressional leaders on both sides issuing toothless press releases, wringing their hands, and then doing… nothing.
We didn’t elect these people to be cheerleaders for the president. We elected them to serve *us*. To debate. To legislate. To act in the national interest, not their own political careers.
Their refusal to check the executive branch, their refusal to do the hard work of governing, is not just pathetic—it’s dangerous.
And if we don’t push back now, it only gets worse.
Make Them Feel It
At VoteDown, we believe in direct political accountability. We believe politicians shouldn’t get to ignore the people and skate by unchallenged. And we believe the best way to make Congress listen is to make them hurt politically when they fail us.
Here’s what you can do right now:
- Contact your member of Congress and demand they reclaim their power over tariffs.
- Email and protest, yes—but don’t stop there.
- Use VoteDown to show your outrage in the most effective way possible: Publicly pledge to donate against your representative in the next election—and we'll ensure your funds go directly to their most viable challenger. No noise. Just consequences.
When enough of us VoteDown, they won’t be able to ignore it. They'll hear us. In their inboxes. In the media. In the polls. And eventually, at the ballot box.
We don’t have to accept this broken system. We don’t have to accept inflation, recession, and authoritarian drift. We can fight back. But only if we stop playing defense and start going on the offensive.
