Are Kentucky taxpayers in line for a $5,000 bonus thanks to Donald Trump and Elon Musk?
According to comments made by Trump last week, he is exploring the idea of giving back DOGE savings to American citizens as a form of stimulus payment, referred to as a “DOGE dividend” check.
However, residents of Kentucky might want to pause on any extravagant purchases. The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, would need to achieve its ambitious target of $2 trillion in savings for this idea to materialize. This is a challenge that even Elon Musk, the de facto head of DOGE, indicated may be difficult to accomplish back in January.
While Trump has expressed his support for this initiative, there are dissenting opinions.
House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared skeptical during a discussion on Thursday, implying that reducing the national debt would be a better approach. For the checks to be distributed, Congressional approval would ultimately be required.
Here’s what you should know regarding the potential DOGE dividend checks.
What is DOGE?
DOGE, officially known as the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization, is an initiative set up by Trump, tasked with discovering ways to reduce government spending and regulations.
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Origin of the $5,000 DOGE stimulus checks proposal
On February 14, “anti-woke” investor James Fishback, CEO and co-founder of Azoria Partners, proposed the concept on X, advocating for $5,000 checks derived from the $2 trillion in DOGE-generated savings—leaving the rest for national debt reduction.
“American taxpayers should receive a ‘DOGE Dividend’; 20% of the savings from DOGE should go back to hardworking Americans as a tax refund. They essentially paid for it,” Fishback tweeted.
He further urged, “@ElonMusk, let’s make it happen! This could help restore faith in our government,” he added.
During a CNN discussion on Saturday, Fishback emphasized that the prospect of receiving checks up to $5,000 would “motivate Americans to report waste, fraud, and abuse in their communities. The more DOGE saves, the larger their check will be.”
Elon Musk’s stance on the $5,000 DOGE stimulus checks
In response to Fishback’s DOGE dividend idea on X, Musk commented, “Will check with the President.”
Elon Musk listens to U.S. President Donald Trump speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 11, 2025.
Implementation of $5,000 stimulus checks: Who qualifies?
In 2020, Congress enacted a $2 trillion bipartisan stimulus package to address economic issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. It included individual checks of $1,200 and $2,400 for most married couples filing jointly, with an additional $500 per qualifying child under 17.
These checks were sent to individuals who had filed tax returns in the previous two years or received Social Security or Veterans benefits. The package also provided funding for small business loans, grants, and additional weekly unemployment benefits.
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President Trump’s comments on DOGE dividend checks
Trump mentioned the proposal on Wednesday during two separate occasions. “We are thinking of allocating 20% of the DOGE savings to American citizens and another 20% for debt repayment,” Trump stated while speaking at the Saudi-funded FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami Beach.
Later, while on Air Force One, he reaffirmed, “I love it. A 20% dividend, so to speak, for the money saved by targeting waste, fraud, and all the other irregularities,” as noted in an Associated Press video.
Trump also suggested that the dividend would serve as “an incentive for taxpayers to report waste and help us save money.”
U.S. President Donald Trump dances onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) annual meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S., February 22, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s take on DOGE dividend checks
Speaker Mike Johnson seemed disapproving of the DOGE dividend proposal during his speech at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday.
He expressed skepticism, stating, “Politically, this would be great for us since everyone would receive a check. But considering our core principles, fiscal responsibility is what we stand for as conservatives. We’re facing a $36 trillion federal debt and a significant deficit. We need to address that first.”
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland on Feb. 20, 2025 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.
Economists’ perspectives on $5,000 stimulus checks
Most economists who have weighed in believe that a DOGE dividend would not be advisable.
Judge Glock, director of research at the Manhattan Institute, mentioned that “It would elevate the deficit and potentially cause inflationary pressure while increasing immediate consumer spending, which is not desirable at this moment,” in a statement to Scripps News.
Glock suggested that the funds would be better allocated towards addressing the $1 trillion annual budget deficit and reducing taxes.
Could DOGE stimulus checks lead to inflation?
Another concern regarding stimulus checks is inflation. Jay Zagorsky, a professor at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, explained that if DOGE starts “distributing large checks to significant numbers of individuals, this could substantially drive inflation, especially since Trump’s tariffs make goods and services more expensive,” he told CBS News.
Contrarily, Kevin Hassett, Trump’s National Economic Council director, argued during a press briefing that such checks wouldn’t cause inflation since the government had already accounted for those expenditures.
Protesters rally against President Donald Trump to mark Presidents Day on Feb. 17, 2025, in New York City.
“If we refrain from spending government funds and return it to the people, even if they exhaust it, we are at a standstill,” he remarked, according to financial news outlet Investopedia. “However, they will likely save a considerable portion, which could alleviate inflation.”
The entire discussion could be irrelevant, as it appears unlikely that DOGE will manage to secure the desired $2 trillion in savings, according to Zagorsky, who noted, “I’m simply not convinced the savings exist.”
Is DOGE effectively saving taxpayer money?
Recently, Musk stated that DOGE had saved taxpayers $55 billion. However, a miscalculation—characterizing the cancellation of an $8 million contract as an $8 billion saving—led to a revised estimate of around $16.5 billion in total savings.
DOGE’s savings may not be substantial enough to enable the distribution of checks “large enough” to trigger inflationary effects, according to Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, who dismissed the DOGE dividend notion as “absurd.”
“There simply aren’t the funds available, especially not enough to make a significant contribution to taxpayers,” Kamarck commented, referencing her prior experience working alongside Vice President Al Gore in efforts to reduce government waste during the Clinton administration. “The individual often makes overblown statements,” she added, referring to Musk.
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This report first appeared in the Indianapolis Star: Will Kentucky taxpayers receive a $5,000 stimulus check from DOGE?
