The central conclusion is that Americans still believe in the promise of the American founding, but they are uncertain whether the country is living up to it. 

It’s good news that refunds accounting for most of the IEEPA tariffs paid have been issued or should be issued soon. But the government’s actions indicate that it could end up keeping tens of billions of dollars that it unlawfully confiscated from US importers.

Lawmakers will need to scrutinize defense spending more heavily if they hope to fix the country’s economic woes.