On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signaled that he’s open to a proposal that was first made by billionaire Tesla CEO and owner of social media platform X, Elon Musk, which is a “dividend” paid directly to taxpayers from money saved by the Department of Government Efficiency.
It all began when James Fishback, the CEO of Azoria Investment Firm, mentioned the idea in a post published on X earlier in the week. Fishback’s idea is based on DOGE’s plan to try and reduce spending by $2 trillion by summer of 2026.
Fishback suggested taking 20 percent of that money, which is $4 billion, and give it back to the taxpayers via a “DOGE dividend” which would then be paid out to a total of 79 million households who “will be net payers of federal income tax.”
According to the Azoria CEO, such a plan “compensates American taxpayers for the egregious misuse and abuse of their hard-earned tax dollars that DOGE has uncovered” and “works to restore public trust between taxpayers and their government, making good on this social contract and increasing tax morale.”
He then said that due to the volume of waste DOGE is expecting to discovery, it’s the right time for the federal government to “right the wrong” that was done to American taxpayers by having their money taken and essentially laundered so it could disappear in politicians’ pockets.
Will check with the President
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2025
“When asked about the possibility that his administration could move forward with such a plan, Trump seemed more than amenable to the idea,” The Daily Wire reported.
“I love it!” Trump told members of the press. “A 20% dividend, so to speak, for the money that we’re saving by going after the waste and fraud and abuse and all the other things that are happening. I think it’s a great idea.”
A reporter then asked the president how much money he believed DOGE might ultimately save, to which he replied, “I don’t know, it could be a lot. It’s 20%, it would give back a lot of money to the taxpayer.”
PRESIDENT TRUMP: "A 20% dividend, so to speak, for the money that we're saving by going after the waste and fraud and abuse … I think it's a great idea." pic.twitter.com/CWXcKyBvZv
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 20, 2025
There are some folks who are concerned about the dividend idea, believing giving out money like this could lead to increased inflation the same way the COVID checks did. Others want to see the money applied to the national debt instead of handed out to regular Americans, saying the cash the IRS took and the government misspent is already long gone.
These are legitimate concerns and ideas. The last thing we want to see is an increase in inflation. At the same time, the exposure of all the fraud, waste, and abuse is also making the American people feel as though they’ve been scammed. Giving the dividend would go a long way in righting this wrong.
We’ll just have to wait and see whether or not this idea can even get off the ground in Congress.
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