Poll: Should The Federal Government Give People DOGE Checks?

The idea of giving American taxpayers a $5,000 refund from savings generated by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is a hot topic these days.

President Trump reportedly has floated the idea of taking 20 percent of the savings generated by DOGE and giving taxpayers a $5,000 refund check.

Under that proposal, another 20 percent would go towards paying the national debt. According to Forbes.com, Trump has said the amount of money saved by DOGE could amount to "hundreds of billions of dollars."

Musk himself has been quoted as favoring the idea. But not everyone is so enthusiastic.

Arguments in favor of the checks include the idea that it simply reimburses taxpayers for money that was wrongfully taken from them in the first place. The money help stimulate the economy and give hardworking American a little help in dealing with high inflation

Sen. Lummis; The Debt, Deficit, Fixing Inflation Should Come First

Wyoming Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, while not totally rejecting the idea, has said she thinks the refunds should not be the first priority:

"I’m very interested in eliminating the debt and the deficit. . . as well as getting inflation under control. So those would be my top priorities for the savings associated with DOGE." She continued, “If there’s money left after we address inflation, and the debt, and the deficit, it’s always a good idea to send taxpayers their money back. But when we're $36 trillion in debt, we've dug ourselves a pretty big hole.”

The Arizona Republic quotes House Speaker Mike Johnson as saying "Politically, that would be great for us, you know, because everybody gets a check," Johnson said to the crowd. "But if you think about our core principles, right, fiscal responsibility is what we do as conservatives. That's our brand and we have a $36 trillion federal debt. We have a giant deficit that we're contending with. I think we need to pay down the credit card, right?"

It's worth noting that congress would have to approve issuing the refunds.

There are also folks who are skeptical about the alleged savings being discovered by DOGE. CNN, for example, has accused Musk of misleading statements on a number of issues

So what do you think? Should the federal government give taxpayers $5.000 refund checks from money saved by DOGE?

Or is Senator Lummis right when she says we need to take care of issues like inflation and the debt first? Or perhaps you aren't convinced the DOGE savings are being accurately represented in the first place? Take our poll and give us your opinion!