When the tariffs go away there is going to be less money in the federal bank account, an account that is already experiencing higher withdrawals and lower deposits. Will the government want to give up its side income?
I can tell that this is going to be a shock, but there is no “money” in the federal bank account (Treasury or Fed). Money is created on demand by spending into the private sector via Congressional appropriations, so the monopoly issuer of the currency has no need for money. In fact, any “money” entering the government sector from the private sector is, as a first order accounting function, canceled by the debt that created it. -1+1=0
Money only exists in the private sector. The government sector only holds debt/tax credits. It is true that tariffs will act as taxes and decrease the debt, but they will also increase prices of the applicable products/commodities. The debt is of no consequence to a currency-issuing government, but consumer prices are. While everyone, mostly on the right, is setting their hair on fire over the national debt, tariffs present the “real” possibility of inflation that isn’t driven by, or controllable with, monetary policy. This also comes attached to a very real reduction in our exports. All paths lead down from here with tariffs.