President Donald Trump has said that his government is thinking about giving taxpayers back 20% of the “DOGE savings.” Would the DOGE in Mississippi be willing to give you $5,000? Who is eligible?
Some people think that the Trump administration might give Americans a tax cut because the government is spending less. But don’t count on it.
Right now, it’s all just an idea, and one plan would keep low-income families from getting any profits.
A new budget was passed by the US House of Representatives that extends Trump’s tax cuts from 2017 and cuts taxes by $4.5 trillion over ten years.
It would also raise the debt cap by $4 trillion over two years, which would add about $3 trillion to the deficit over ten years if it were passed.
It cost the US $35.5 trillion in the fiscal year 2024 to pay off its debts.
For the checks to be sent, the Department of Government Efficiency would have to get back $2 trillion in savings. Elon Musk, who is the unofficial boss of the department, has said that this might not be possible in January.
Congress has to agree to the spending before any checks can be written.
So far, this is what we know about when the DOGE check will arrive.
What does DOGE mean?
Trump changed the name of the United States Digital Service, an agency in the executive branch, to the Department of Government Efficiency in an order he signed on his first day in office. It is called the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization on paper.
Musk was eventually called a “special employee of the government.”
Several Democratic state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against Musk, questioning his authority and saying that his power to access data and cut government funds goes against the Constitution. The Appointments Clause says that Congress has to approve the people who work in the executive department.
Trump used to call Musk the head of DOGE, but a lawsuit filing showed that the wealthiest man in the world is not in charge of the department or an employee of it. Instead, he is a senior adviser to the president. This meant that DOGE had a major change in leadership.
The judge did not stop Musk from getting to private information.
Amy Gleason was recently put in charge of DOGE as a temporary administrator.
Who had the idea to use DOGE checks?
Musk’s social media site X was where CEO James Fishback of Azoria Investments pitched the idea. He suggested that they “announce a ‘DOGE Dividend,'” which would be a tax refund check sent to every taxpayer, paid for by a part of the total savings made by DOGE.
Musk said, “Will check with the President.”
Trump then said in a speech that hundreds of billions of dollars had been saved and that “we’re considering giving 20% of the DOGE savings to American citizens and 20% to paying down the debt.”
Do the DOGE cuts make sense?
As of now, DOGE has made huge cuts that have not been proven to be true. After a while, some get rolled back. People on both major parties have said bad things about it.
On his blog, Nat Malkus, a researcher at the conservative think group the American Enterprise Institute, said, “DOGE has an unprecedented chance to cut waste and bloat.” “However, the sloppy work that has been shown so far should make even its most sympathetic supporters think twice.”
The government said in the middle of February that taxpayers would save $55 billion. The biggest mistake in the books on the “Wall of Receipts” went from $8 million to $8 billion. But $16.5 billion worth of contracts, leases, and loans were canceled.
Musk also said that they ended 89 study contracts with the Education Department worth a total of $881 million. DOGE later changed the number to $489 million. A think tank on the left called New America said that the amount was more like $278 million.
The Wall of Receipts showed that a total of $105 billion had been saved as of Monday, March 3. This includes getting out of 13 government real estate contracts in Mississippi.
The March 2 update hasn’t been fully fact-checked yet, and the real estate section has been changed. In the new data, there is no longer information about the type of contract and its use, but there was information about what kind of office or agency used the facility or land.
What kind of people could get a check?
Fishback showed a four-page plan for a “DOGE dividend” and said it should only go to families that pay taxes and make more than a certain amount of money.
He said the plan was made in about two and a half hours and then sent to Susie Wiles, the chief of staff at the White House, and other people in the Trump administration.
Fishback says that the COVID-19 pandemic stimulus checks led to transfer payments that were equal to 25 to 30 percent of the annual income of low-income families.
“This is only given to households that are net-payers of federal income tax. This means that they are less likely to spend and more likely to save a transfer payment like the DOGE dividend.”
The United States Census Bureau says that about 18% of people who live in Mississippi are poor. It is $54,915 for the middle-income family in the state, and $30,529 for each person.
Pew Research Center says that most people who have an adjusted gross income of less than $30,000 do not pay federal income tax. People with low incomes are most likely to gain from refundable credits.
Could DOGE checks get to people in the United States?
Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House, said that the money should be used to lower the national debt.
There is no word on whether or not Congress will take up the plan or what the final requirements will be.
