The man who drafted the proposal for a stimulus check to be sent to American households from Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) savings told Newsweek that if the proposal comes to be, he hopes it will incentivize Americans to report government waste or fraud that they might witness firsthand.
Why It Matters
DOGE is a new department created under President Donald Trump that is looking to reduce federal costs. Led by billionaire Elon Musk, the department has recommended mass layoffs in the federal government as a means to eliminate $2 trillion yearly in funding to major U.S. agencies.
Azoria investment CEO James Fishback has proposed that Americans should receive a stimulus check from some of the savings, and he recently created a Google Doc accessible from the website mydogedividend.com that addresses the benefits and common questions related to the argument.
What to Know
Fishback proposes that DOGE should send a tax refund check to American families. The check would be “funded exclusively with a portion of the total savings delivered by DOGE.” According to DOGE, the department is allegedly achieving $1 billion in savings per day.
Fishback proposes that 20 percent of DOGE’s total savings, estimated to be $400 billion by the time of its expiration, should be sent to 79 million households that pay federal income tax. This would equate to roughly $5,000 per household.
If the proposal comes to fruition, Americans likely wouldn’t see a check until after DOGE expires in July 2026.
Trump and Musk have expressed their consideration for the proposal, but some voices in Congress are more hesitant about the idea.
Republican Speaker Mike Johnson emphasized the importance of fiscal responsibility over political gains at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday, citing the nation’s $36 trillion debt as a reason for concern.
“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? That’s what I think we need to do,” Johnson said.
However, Fishback argues that by creating a DOGE Dividend, the American government will save even more money. If Americans see their tax dollars returned, Fishback believes they will be incentivized to report government waste.
Fishback theorizes that if his proposal is accepted and if DOGE saves more money than it expects, the dividend check sent to American households could be larger than $5,000.
What People Are Saying
Fishback told Newsweek: “We are deputizing everyday Americans to be our eyes and ears on the ground to report waste, fraud and abuse. The more DOGE saves, the bigger the DOGE Dividend check is, and that is a very powerful incentive for people to step up and report government waste.”
Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis’ team pointed Newsweek to a quote the senator gave to Scripps News: “I’m very interested in eliminating the debt and the deficit, as well as getting inflation under control. So those would be my top priorities for the savings associated with DOGE.
“If there’s money left after we address inflation, and the debt, and the deficit, it’s always a good idea to send taxpayers their money back. But when we’re $36 trillion in debt, we’ve dug ourselves a pretty big hole, so we need to address that first.”
Kimberly Clausing, economist and professor at the UCLA School of Law, previously told Newsweek: “Right now this dividend is pure fantasy, as they’ve shown very little in the way of concrete budget savings. While their government layoffs will cause a lot of mayhem in terms of the provision of government services in areas like forest management, public safety, and tax filing, they will not make an important dent in the budget deficit, for the simple reason that personnel costs are a tiny fraction of the US federal budget.”
Representative Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Texas, wrote on X: “I said that the DOGE checks were dead on arrival and MAGA went crazy… I also pointed out that 5k ain’t ‘it.’ If you don’t have a job because he’s sending us into a recession where people are gonna be outta work. I’m sure the average person would rather have an actual consistent income, but these fools are so slow that they can’t listen to an entire sentence.
“Also what is 5k when you don’t have any social security, Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, housing benefits, and the list goes on?”
What Happens Next
Fishback’s proposal remains in its early stages and would require congressional approval before any checks are issued.
Fishback told Newsweek that he’s currently in Washington, D.C., to further discuss his proposal and has met with officials in the federal government. The situation is “fluid,” and more details will come as talks continue, he said.
Fishback added that he hopes to get feedback from Republicans and Democrats.
“This is a policy supported by a Republican president, but the check will go to Democrat constituents. We want to make sure we get good feedback and incorporate that feedback,” he said.
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