James Fishback, CEO of Azoria, has proposed a novel approach to U.S. government spending cuts, potentially offering financial relief to American households. His idea, dubbed the "Doge dividend," suggests distributing a portion of the savings from government cost-cutting measures, led by Elon Musk's "department of government efficiency" (Doge), to all U.S. households in the form of checks. Fishback shared this proposal in a memo on social media, where it quickly garnered attention.
Former President Donald Trump appeared to respond positively to Fishback's memo. When questioned about the idea, Trump remarked, "I love it," indicating potential support for the initiative. The proposal hinges on Musk's team achieving significant spending cuts; however, they have only managed to cut $8.5 billion in government contracts so far. This figure represents a mere fraction of the total spending directed toward contractors, which remains unspecified.
Musk has set an ambitious target of reducing $2 trillion in government funding. Yet, he has admitted that reaching this goal may be challenging for his team. If successful, Fishback's memo suggests that households could receive checks amounting to $5,000 each as part of the "Doge dividend."
Trump has shown support for sending checks to every U.S. household despite concerns about inflationary pressures. During his campaign, Trump promised to "rapidly drive prices down," although he has not fully achieved this objective. His administration and that of his successor, President Joe Biden, both issued stimulus checks to help families during the financial instability caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Economists have argued that these measures contributed to an elevated inflation rate.
In June 2022, U.S. inflation soared to a 40-year high of 9.1% before beginning to decline. However, recent figures indicate that inflation is rising again, with the 12-month consumer price index increasing by 3% last month, up slightly from 2.9% in December. The Federal Reserve aims for a 2% inflation target, highlighting the complexities of managing economic stability.
Trump has acknowledged the difficulty of reversing price increases, stating:
"It's hard to bring things down once they’re up." – Donald Trump
He has continued to blame President Biden for price hikes that occurred during his own tenure. Additionally, Trump has noted the resurgence of inflation:
"Inflation is back. No, think of it: inflation’s back." – Donald Trump
Research conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis found that pandemic-related stimulus measures contributed approximately 2.6 percentage points to the increase in U.S. inflation.