Topic: Gilded Age

NPR reporter Scott Horsley characterized Donald Trump's trade policies as a form of "steam-driven nostalgia" for the Gilded Age prior to the 1913 adoption of the income tax. The report suggests Trump intends to replace income tax revenue with tariff revenue, a move NPR claims would benefit the wealthy while burdening lower-income families. The hosts mock the idea that poor people are significantly impacted by the cost of imported luxury goods.