When former President Donald Trump first floated the idea of sending $2,000 dividend checks to nearly every American family, the announcement made headlines across the country.

Supporters were optimistic, critics were skeptical, and economists began dissecting the numbers. But this week, after months of vague statements and unanswered questions, Trump finally offered the first concrete timeline for when such payments might actually reach American households.

The answer — 2026 — only opened the door to even more questions. The concept sounds simple on the surface: tariffs generate federal revenue, and that money is then redistributed to…