Elon Musk has been shaking things up as the unofficial head of DOGE and he really got people going with talk of a substantial Stimulus Check for taxpayers. The idea is that a portion of the federal funds saved through the department’s efforts to cut down on government spending will find its way into the pockets of taxpayers. The discussion is getting intense as proponents and critics alike put forward strong arguments for or against the motion.
While speculation abounds, it’s important to not make any plans for a Stimulus Check that may never come to pass. The Department of Government Efficiency would have to accumulate savings of $2 trillion before any plans could be made to share it and there would be a legislative process to follow as well.
Where did the idea of a DOGE Stimulus Check come from?
The goal of the Department of Government Efficiency is to cut government spending and waste, and polarizing billionaire, scientist, and visionary Elon Musk is on board as an advisor of sorts. The CEO and founder of Tesla and SpaceX has expanded his career to include politics after forging a bond with US President Donald Trump.
Together, they’re musing on the idea of a $5,000 refund going out to all taxpayers, but many factors would have to come together for this to happen.
James Fishback got the ball rolling
But where did it start? James Fishback, an “anti-woke” investor and CEO and co-founder of Azoria Partners was the first to float the idea. On February 14, he suggested the idea on social media platform X and tagged Musk:
“American taxpayers deserve a ‘DOGE Dividend’: 20% the money that DOGE saves should be sent back to hard-working Americans as a tax refund check. It was their money in the first place. @ElonMusk, let’s do this! This is how we rebuild trust in our government.”
The rest of the savings would be used to decrease the national debt.
When discussing the possible dividend with the media after he caught attention with his suggestion, Fishback said the potential for a check of such an amount would:
“…incentivize Americans to report waste, fraud, and abuse in their own community. Why? Because the more that DOGE saves, the bigger their check will be.”
What needs to happen before a DOGE payout becomes reality?
Firstly, DOGE would have to meet its lofty savings target of $2 trillion to make such a sizeable kickback feasible. Even Musk himself admitted recently that this may not even be possible.
However, since then, President Trump has said that his administration is considering giving 20% of DOGE savings back to taxpayers. He made the statement just a day after Musk promised to have a chat with him about it.
Even if the $5,000 payment proposal progresses, it would still require Congress’ approval to disburse funds to taxpayers.
What do the stakeholders say?
Trump’s most recent statements on the possibility of a DOGE funds disbursement revealed that he’s taking the idea seriously. Speaking at the Saudi-sponsored FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami Beach, he said:
“We’re considering giving 20% of the DOGE savings to American citizens and 20% to paying down the debt.”
When asked about the proposal later, Trump sounded positive:
“I love it. A 20% dividend, so to speak, for the money that we saving by going after the waste and fraud and abuse and all the other things that are happening.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson is not on board with the DOGE dividend proposal:
“Politically, that would be great for us, you know, because everybody gets a check. But if you think about our core principles, right, fiscal responsibility is what we do as conservatives. That’s our brand and we have a $36 trillion federal debt. We have a giant deficit that we’re contending with. I think we need to pay down the credit card, right?”
The majority of economists who have spoken out don’t think a DOGE dividend would be a good idea. Judge Glock, director of research at the Manhattan Institute, believes the money would be better off offsetting the $1 trillion annual budget deficit and taxes. He told the media:
“It would increase the deficit, it would increase immediate consumer spending, and that would have inflationary consequences, which is something we don’t want right now.”
But Kevin Hassett, Trump’s director of the National Economic Council, feels that the checks wouldn’t be inflationary because the fed had already planned to spend the money.
“If we don’t spend government money and we give it back to the people, if they spend it all, then you’re even. But they’re probably going to save a lot of it, in which case you’re reducing inflation.”
The issue may be pointless to debate because DOGE is unlikely to be able to reach its goal of $2 trillion in savings. Unfortunately, Americans who got excited should stand down about a DOGE divided. There is, however, funding going out that people can be sure of, and that’s the Earned Income Tax Credit.