Musk Considers ‘DOGE Dividend’ to Send Americans Checks Using Saved Funds

Elon Musk has shown interest in a proposal to use savings from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to provide taxpayers with a “DOGE dividend” payment.

X user James Fishback outlined the idea in a post tagging Musk, suggesting that 20% of the savings achieved by DOGE be returned to “hard-working Americans as a tax refund check,” emphasizing that “it was their money in the first place!”

Fishback estimated that if DOGE successfully cuts $2 trillion in federal spending, approximately 78 million taxpaying households in the U.S. could receive a $5,000 refund per household, with the remaining funds allocated toward reducing the national debt.

Musk responded to the post, stating, “Will check with the President.”

Musk’s Focus on Balancing the Budget

Although DOGE has set an ambitious goal of $2 trillion in savings, Musk has previously mentioned that achieving even $1 trillion in savings would be considered a success. During a Fox News appearance on Hannity alongside President Donald Trump, Musk emphasized the importance of deficit reduction.

“The overall goal is to cut a trillion dollars from the deficit,” Musk said. “If the deficit is not brought under control, America will go bankrupt.”

He further explained, “A country is no different from an individual. If an individual overspends, they can go bankrupt—so can a country. The massive waste, fraud, and abuse that have led to a $2 trillion annual deficit must be addressed.”

DOGE claims to have already achieved an estimated $55 billion in savings through actions such as canceling federal leases and contracts, selling assets, eliminating fraudulent expenses, reducing regulatory costs, and workforce downsizing.

Concerns About the DOGE Dividend

While Musk seemed open to the idea of a DOGE dividend on Tuesday night, by Wednesday morning, he emphasized that balancing the budget should remain the priority.

In response to a post by Scott Adams, who warned that the DOGE dividend could lead to the government treating savings as a “piggy bank,” Musk wrote, “We need to balance the budget as first priority.”

The federal government ran a budget deficit of more than $1.8 trillion in the fiscal year 2024, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Projections indicate the deficit will exceed $2 trillion annually in the coming years, leaving the Trump administration and DOGE with a significant challenge in their goal to balance the budget.