Elon Musk’s hypothetical DOGE stimulus checks will be ‘symbolic’ and exclude low-income Americans
It was already ridiculous enough when Elon Musk claimed to be considering stimulus checks funded by DOGE’s nonexistent savings. Now, the checks proposer has clarified that if they do go out, low-income Americans won’t get them, and their “symbolism” will take priority over their dollar amount.
Recently, investor James Fishback took to X with his proposal that DOGE send out “dividends” or stimulus checks to American taxpayers funded by the department’s government savings. He proposed that the department could give all taxpayers $5,000 next summer, which would only account for 20% of DOGE’s savings. Musk quickly took interest and claimed he would check with Donald Trump whether to move forward with the dividends. The only problem is that DOGE’s savings don’t exist yet. While the company has claimed to have saved billions, NPR estimated their actual savings is about $2 billion. The idea that its savings will jump from $2 billion to $1 trillion in a year is pretty far-fetched.
Needless to say, Musk’s supposed interest in the DOGE dividends felt very premature and performative. However, the situation has grown even more ridiculous now that Fishback clarified that low-income Americans won’t get the hypothetical checks and that Musk doesn’t even have to deliver on the initial $5,000 promise because the symbolism of the checks is all that matters.
DOGE’s nonexistent dividends somehow got even more ridiculous
In a recent interview with NBC News, Fishback confirmed that his DOGE dividend vision will exclude low-income Americans. While many assumed his proposal included all taxpayers, it actually included an important caveat. It suggests that the checks will only go to “net-income ” taxpayers, which means those who pay more in taxes than they get back. Of course, since the U.S. operates on a progressive tax system where taxes increase with income, wealthier residents tend to be net-income taxpayers. The vast majority of low-income Americans would not qualify for the dividend under this stipulation.
In his interview with NBC, Fishback further defended giving the checks only to net-income taxpayers, as it would evade the threat of inflation. A significant concern with the hypothetical checks is that they would drive inflation up. Hence, he thinks the natural solution is just to cut the people who need the money most from the equation. He also reasoned that wealthier Americans would spend their DOGE dividends more responsibly than low-income Americans to help further avoid inflation. He explained:
Tax-paying households are more likely to save (not spend) a transfer payment like the DOGE Dividend as consumption is a lower share of their income. … There is nothing inflationary about paying off debt, saving for emergencies, or investing in college or retirement. In fact, debt paydowns are actually deflationary.
This clarification will come as quite a bombshell to Trump supporters who believed the checks were real and thought they would be like a new round of stimulus checks. They almost seem pointless if they’re not going to people who need them. Even Fishback admitted that these checks likely won’t be stimulating the economy or anything. They’re just handouts for the rich who don’t need them.
It would be upsetting if these checks happen and low-income Americans watch as the nation’s wealthiest households get $5,000. However, this scenario likely won’t happen either, as Fishback admitted that “it’s not about the dollar amount.” He acknowledged that DOGE may not have enough to give these households $5,000 and that the check could drop to something closer to $1,250 or less. He defended the checks potentially being lower than promised because”It’s about the symbolism of the government sending money back in the form of restitution to compensate hardworking Americans.”
So, wealthy Americans could very well receive a “symbolic” $1 check from DOGE next year instead of the $5,000 dividends they were initially promised because it’s just the symbolism that matters. The billionaires have made it so that they can laugh at the low-income Americans who get nothing and at the wealthier Americans when they open up their long-awaited stimulus checks to find a symbolic two cents.
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