Making it to the end of the month has become quite a difficult task for the average American household, but a new hope from DOGE has brought hope to many.
Yet it has also stirred controversy for many others. We are talking about the stimulus check proposed by DOGE, a $5,000 stimulus promoted by the Government Efficiency Department (DOGE) led by Elon Musk.
But of course. Where is DOGE getting the money to issue such high-value stimulus checks? Who will be eligible to receive them and how will it be paid? You’re in luck because we’re going to tell you everything you need to know to apply for this DOGE payment.
What check are we talking about?
We’re talking about the DOGE Stimulus Check, which aims to distribute part of the savings collected by the organization led by Musk. As we already know, DOGE was created to reduce public spending, since both Musk and President Trump believed the Social Security Administration was poorly managed and used too much public money.
Now this check enters the scene, based on the idea of returning 20% of the savings DOGE generates to taxpayers, either as rebate checks or dividends. Of course, this is a very tempting idea for taxpayers, but there are still many questions surrounding it.
How much has DOGE saved these past months?
Since Trump retook office and returned to the Oval Office, DOGE, according to the data they have released themselves, has saved $130 billion through the changes they’ve made (job cuts and recovery of overpayments to taxpayers). Still far from the $1 trillion they aim to reach before the end of May, which is when Musk will leave office.
Where did the idea for this check come from?
James Fishback, CEO of Azoria Partners and mastermind behind the proposal, suggested that part of the money collected by DOGE could be returned to taxpayers as a “reward.” Fishback believes this could encourage taxpayers to detect and report wasteful government spending. Additionally, this check would be entirely funded by the savings Musk has generated through his federal plans and would have nothing to do with deficit spending like previous checks.
But what are the requirements for this stimulus check?
As mentioned, this check is not a typical one like the Economic Impact Payments. This DOGE payment will be much more selective and not aimed at the entire population. In this case, only households that are net positive taxpayers, meaning they pay federal taxes, will be eligible. Unfortunately, individuals with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) below $40,000 would automatically be excluded from this payment.
Another point DOGE emphasizes is that the check will not be individual, but per household unit, in order to reward collective tax contribution rather than that of a single person.
Detractors and supporters
Clearly, this is a somewhat controversial piece of news. Some of the country’s most well-known economic voices have said it’s a bad idea and that the money could be used in better ways, such as helping to reduce the budget deficit.
Judge Glock, director of research at the Manhattan Institute, stated that this payment will increase the deficit and will raise immediate consumer spending, and of course, would generate more inflation than we are already experiencing.
Elaine Kamark, a researcher at the Brookings Institution, stated that Musk’s idea is ridiculous because there isn’t enough money to make this contribution to taxpayer users.
Will it cause inflation?
Fishback, who proposed the idea, claims that these checks will not cause inflation because they are generated from DOGE’s savings and are unrelated to the national debt.
When will it be delivered?
It hasn’t yet been approved by Congress. Even though it sounds like a brilliant idea, there are still many loose ends that DOGE must confirm, including whether the base data is accurate and whether it will ultimately be distributed as a rebate or not.
We’ll have to stay tuned to find out if it’s approved and whether thousands of households receive this extra income, which would be helpful for everyone!
