The last time the federal government issued large-scale stimulus checks was during the COVID-19 pandemic to assist eligible people in overcoming the financial consequences of the pandemic, including rising living expenses, widespread layoffs and job losses, and the death of breadwinners in families.
There are now rumors that the Trump Administration is considering a new government stimulus cheque. The check relates to the government budget reductions achieved by the recently established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
What is DOGE?
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, is in charge of DOGE, an outside advisory group. Despite its name, DOGE is an external organization that was established and hired by the Trump Administration for an 18-month contract; it is not an official department of the US federal government.
The new agency’s job is to advise the administration on how to cut back on wasteful government expenditure.
At first, DOGE’s main objective was to reduce federal spending by $2 trillion. This has recently been lowered to $150 billion, though. The budget of the federal government is $7 trillion.
To date, DOGE has slashed workers across federal ministries and made extensive budget cuts in order to meet this savings target.
Most significantly, the agency has made controversial cuts to USAID and Medicaid.
A $5,000 DOGE stimulus payout is subject to a recent modification
In an interview with Chris Cuomo back in April, James Fishback, the founder and CEO of the investment business Azoria, proposed that the federal government might give 20% of the savings to the general public in the form of stimulus packages if DOGE meets the savings objective.
Initially, this would have been equivalent to a $5,000 stimulus payout under the $2 trillion savings target. But under the updated objective, taxpayers would get between $800 and $1,000 in this payout.
DOGE is far from meeting their new savings target of $150 billion, which is a prerequisite for the payment to occur, even if the White House has not confirmed whether such a payment is in the works.
Reporters have pointed out that DOGE’s boasts of having already saved $165 billion are not true, with the real figures more likely to be around $15 billion.
Read Also: $1,999 Social Security Payments Set for May 14, 21 & 28 — Who Qualifies?
Conditions to be eligible for the DOGE stimulus payment
There would probably be eligibility restrictions to receive the stimulus payout, assuming DOGE can meet their savings goal by the time their contract expires in July of next year.
To qualify for the DOGE stimulus payment, the following requirements might need to be fulfilled:
- The taxpayer’s household must have a favorable net tax payment history.
- Not per person, but per household, payments would be made. This pertains to married people who both file. If you get Social Security, you can be eligible if you fulfill the income requirements.
- Since eligibility would be established by IRS filings, you wouldn’t need to apply to get the payout.
Although taxpayers are excited about the possibility of receiving such a stimulus payment, it is crucial to keep in mind that no federal source has verified this, and if verified figures are to be trusted, DOGE is still far from meeting its savings goals.
Even though many taxpayers may be thinking about ways to save money, it’s crucial to find alternative ways to boost your income without the possibility of receiving one-time federal stimulus payments.
