- Elon Musk entertained the idea of a DOGE dividend, which would give $5,000 checks to American taxpayers, funded by savings from government waste reduction. The checks could be distributed in summer 2026, but Musk stresses that balancing the federal budget is DOGE’s top priority.
- DOGE has already saved $55 billion and aims to cut $1 trillion from the national deficit, which the Congressional Budget Office projects will reach $1.9 trillion in 2025.
- Musk has emphasized urgency of controlling the deficit, suggesting the country is on a trajectory to go bankrupt.
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Elon Musk has floated the idea of a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) dividend, a proposal that would send $5,000 checks to American taxpayers. The payments would be funded by money DOGE expects to save through its efforts to reduce government waste and fraud.
Potential payout in summer 2026
The checks could be distributed to U.S. taxpayers as early as the summer of 2026, following a thorough review by DOGE. While Musk said he will share the dividend idea with President Donald Trump, Musk stressed that balancing the federal budget remains DOGE’s top priority.
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The DOGE dividend plan
The idea of the DOGE dividend originated from a letter by James Fishback, who outlined how DOGE could return taxpayer savings back to the people.
Fishback proposed that DOGE takes 20% of the $2 trillion dollars DOGE initially wanted to save, and refund it to 79 million U.S. households as a tax refund check.
The goal, Fishback said, is to compensate taxpayers for the misuse of their hard-earned tax dollars.
Musk responds to the proposal
In response to Fishback’s letter posted on X, Musk said he would “check with the president” about the idea.
Will check with the President
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2025
However, Musk emphasized DOGE’s priority on budget balancing in a separate post on the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 19, following other discussions on X about the proposed $5,000 payouts.
DOGE’s focus on budget deficit reduction
DOGE’s website said it has saved an estimated $55 billion through fraud detection, renegotiating federal contracts and workforce reductions.
In a Fox News interview, Musk said he has set a long-term goal of reducing the deficit by $1 trillion, stressing that controlling the deficit is vital to prevent the U.S. from going bankrupt.
“The overall goal is to try to get one trillion dollars out of the deficit,” Musk said. “If it’s not under control, America will go bankrupt. This is very important for people to understand. A country is no different than an individual. If an individual overspends, an individual can go bankrupt and so can a country.”
The U.S. deficit outlook
Before President Donald Trump took office, the Congressional Budget Office projected the 2025 deficit would rise to $1.9 trillion. As of this fiscal year, which began in October, the deficit is already at $711 billion.
Here is an excerpt from the report:
“In CBO’s projections, the federal budget deficit is $1.9 trillion this year, and federal debt rises to 118 percent of GDP in 2035. Economic growth slows and inflation declines over the next two years; both remain moderate after 2026.”
A continuing deficit impacts the national debt, which stood at $36.22 trillion in December 2024. Interest payments on that debt have recently exceeded Defense Department outlays, as reported by the Council on Foreign Relations, a political think tank.
The U.S. deficit results from the federal government’s spending exceeding the amount it collects in revenue. In fiscal year 2024, the government spent $1.83 trillion more than it collected.
