The architect of the suggested “DOGE dividend” payments for Americans has indicated that the anticipated amount may not necessarily be $5,000.
James Fishback, CEO of Azoria investment firm, has admitted that the $5,000 payout is not a certainty and could vary based on the actual savings generated by the government.
“DOGE will yield what it yields. I believe that DOGE will maximize the savings possible. If millions of Americans are empowered to report on wasteful government spending,” Fishback stated in an interview with Newsweek.
Importance of the Proposal
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with minimizing operational costs, has cut several federal agencies’ sizes to enhance government efficiency.
Both President Donald Trump and DOGE leader Elon Musk have endorsed a plan to distribute a portion of the savings in the form of $5,000 checks to American taxpayers.
While the initiative aims to return some of the savings to taxpayers, it is still in the proposal phase and would need Congressional approval to move forward.
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Key Information
“We estimate that DOGE could save $2 trillion in the coming years. If we take 20 percent of that for the DOGE dividend, it returns $400 billion to taxpayers,” Fishback explained on The David Lin Report.
“With approximately 80 million taxpaying households in the U.S., dividing $400 billion by 80 million results in about $5,000 for each household. That’s the target we aim to achieve.”
However, Fishback cautioned that the actual payout could change based on real savings.
“Again, this proposal is not strictly bound to the $5,000 figure,” he noted. “If the savings exceed or fall short of that, the amount will adjust accordingly. For example, if savings hit only $1 trillion, that would reduce the check to $2,500,”
“And if savings shrink to $500 billion, which would be extremely low, the resulting payment would be about $1,250.
Fishback further claimed that the initiative would foster public involvement by offering financial incentives for Americans to report instances of government overspending.
“It encourages millions of Americans to identify wasteful spending that they notice. They are motivated to participate,” he added.
Under this proposal, 20 percent of the savings generated by DOGE would go to taxpayers as stimulus checks. Currently, with acknowledged savings of $115 billion, each taxpayer could potentially receive around $142 if disbursements occurred today.
The DOGE payment initiative is facing renewed obstacles, as new fiscal reports reveal that anticipated savings from Musk’s department have yet to be realized.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported a 5 percent rise in the federal deficit for February, attributed to a 7 percent increase in spending relative to the same month last year.
The DOGE stimulus plan aims to channel 20 percent of the savings to taxpayers, alongside another 20 percent to address the national debt. It anticipates $2 trillion in savings over the next 18 months, potentially enabling $400 billion in direct payments—amounting to $5,000 checks for around 79 million taxpayers.
Recent CBO statistics, however, raise concerns regarding the feasibility of this plan. The federal government accrued $1.1 trillion in borrowing during the initial five months of Fiscal Year 2025, which included $308 billion in February alone.
Republican Senator Ron Johnson expressed on X, previously known as Twitter, that he would be “happy” to issue checks once the government achieves a balanced budget:
“The funds recovered through DOGE’s efforts to uncover waste, fraud, and abuse should be directed toward reducing expenditure to help balance the budget,” he stated.
Public Reactions
James Fishback, CEO of Azoria investment firm, remarked: “The greater the savings the government realizes through DOGE, the larger the DOGE dividend check will be.
“The DOGE dividend serves to re-engage taxpayers in fiscal responsibility and cost-efficiency, while also motivating them to report issues, as the president noted in that speech. If anyone observes waste, fraud, or abuse, they should inform DOGE. More savings lead to a bigger DOGE check.
Brendan Duke, senior director for Federal Budget Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, commented to Newsweek: “A DOGE dividend is utterly impractical—CBO data shows that federal spending and deficits were greater in February compared to the prior year, indicating that any savings attributed to DOGE are merely superficial.
Looking Ahead
The future of Fishback’s proposal as a formal government policy, along with the timeline for when Americans might start receiving checks, remains ambiguous.
Despite backing from influential figures like Trump and Musk, the DOGE Dividend proposal is still in its infancy. Its implementation will necessitate further legislative action, with the earliest possible disbursements expected in 2026.
