It’s finally here, the long awaited tax refund payment. As you bask in its glory, you may wonder with the current economic circumstances, is there something greater ahead? Is there really hope for a stimulus check in 2025?
What is DOGE?
The new role taken on by Elon Musk to create a higher order of efficiency of the government’s finances birthed the idea of giving back to the citizen’s of the United States. This is the premise of the Department Of Government Efficiency, or DOGE for short Not to be confused with DOGECOIN… Or is it?).
Now, stimulus checks have been hot talk since the first few sent in the government shutdown of 2020. It’s not too wild a thought though, considering that this did last occur under a Trump administration. This stimulus, currently dubbed the DOGE dividend, becomes a more plausible idea when you consider that it’s to be directly funded by the savings achieved by cutting government spending that doesn’t have a reasonable purpose to benefit the country. That might sound promising, but your expectations may change once we get into the numbers later.
How will the payment work?
The DOGE dividend is proposed to be distributed among 78 million American households in the amount of $5,000 per payment. This distribution, in total, would be about 20% of the projected 2 trillion dollars in savings that DOGE is supposed to achieve.
Like previous stimulus checks, this would likely be deposited in the account in which you received your most recent tax return.
Could a $5,000 DOGE payment really happen?
It’s hard to rely on the information released by current government agencies. While there is money being saved under the DOGE investigations, it’s being found that, like the agencies they’re investigating, the numbers are being fluffed up a bit. Among the recent of these mislabellings, is a cancelled 8 billion dollar contract, which was actually an 8 million dollar budget.
What’s in the way of a DOGE Dividend?
Reality. And, as it seems, basic accounting skills. An error such as mistaking a million for a billion is a detriment to the progress of creating a “more efficient government”. When it comes down to it, someone needs to audit the auditor here.
Let’s put it this way: Even if Musk achieves a savings of $2 trillion dollars, a majority of congress still has to pass the payment. And while Trump claims to have the bill in consideration, who are we to hang onto the words of a politician? While the idea is nice, do we truly believe that a $5,000 DOGE check is in the best interest of those who are currently in power?
Is it all bad?
No. Even if it’s not the most capable team behind the magnifying glass, the American citizens should still have a right to know where their tax dollars are being allocated. Furthermore, the citizens should have an advocate against wrongful spending.
Alternatives
One should also consider the economic impact of stimulus payments. While it’s understood that the goal is to increase spending and make it easier for consumers to navigate the economy, business owners could also use this as a reason to increase prices.
Even though we’re taking this wrongful spending away from the government, there may be better solutions than to put it directly in the hands of the people. Alternatives that can help the community may include:
- Leveraging the free market, incentivizing entrepreneurs with grants to start brands which will compete to save people money for goods rather than charge more for them.
- Funding programs to get more people in the trades and help them find better careers in today's brutal labor market.
- Expanding upon much needed affordable healthcare options.
While some may not feel so, it’s the duty of the government to protect its people. At its heart, that’s what the Department of Government Efficiency is meant to do. While it has a lot of work to do on its own efficiency, it’s a start to something that may help the country.