What Will The DOGE Dividend Check Do For Black Americans?

 

Could Black Americans receive a $5,000 tax return refund check next year? Investment firm CEO James Fishback wants to see the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) make that a reality, but will it come at a cost? Speculation on the topic was buzzing Tuesday (Feb. 18), when Fishback, CEO of investment firm Azoria, shared a proposal titled “The Case for a Dodge Dividend” to his X account. 

Fishback, believed to be an outside advisor to the unofficial DOGE led by billionaire Elon Musk, according to Forbes, stated that the dividend would function like “a tax refund check” to be issued to American tay payers after DOGE expires in July 2026. It would be funded entirely by a portion of the savings generated by DOGE. 

According to the proposal, 20% of DOGE’s targeted $2 trillion in savings would be returned to approximately 79 million tax-paying households, potentially resulting in a $5,000 return per household. Fishback hopes this initiative will help rebuild public trust between taxpayers and the government, while DOGE aims to directly engage American citizens by incentivizing them to report instances of waste, fraud, and abuse to help the department further cut spending.

 

Elon Musk told Fishback he would “check with the president” about enforcing the proposal.

It’s unclear yet if the initiative will be approved, as Musk controversially isn’t an elected official. Responding to Fishback on Thursday, the TESLA CEO said he would “check with the president” to see if the proposal could be put into action. In a follow-up post about the initiative, he added, “Obviously, the President is the Commander-in-Chief, so this is entirely up to him.”

So far, DOGE has already made significant cuts—$55 billion, to be exact—in efforts to reduce government spending. According to the agency’s website, the majority of these savings come from a combination of “fraud detection and deletion, contract and lease cancellations, contract and lease renegotiations, asset sales, grant cancellations, workforce reductions, programmatic changes, and regulatory savings.  Agencies that have already experienced cuts include the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Education, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

 

The DOGE Dividend could help Black Americans alleviate tight economic costs.

If the DOGE Dividend proposal goes through it could help many Black Americans who are struggling to make ends meet due to high inflation and economic headwinds. 

A 2024 survey conducted by Achieve found that 76% of Black consumers were living paycheck-to-paycheck, with 43% struggling to make ends meet and 33% feeling financially comfortable. When asked about changes to their household income, respondents were split nearly evenly, with about one-third reporting that their income had either increased, decreased, or stayed the same over the past year. Nearly half (47%) of respondents were bracing for higher grocery costs last year, while 40% expected an increase in utility bills. Black respondents also expected to spend less on dining out (24%), entertainment outside the home (15%), and clothes and shoes (15%) that year.

The economic strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to some relief for Black Americans in 2020, thanks to three rounds of stimulus checks issued by the government. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act introduced the Recovery Rebate Credit for the 2020 tax year. Later, the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2021 created an additional Recovery Rebate Credit in December 2020, and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 introduced another Recovery Rebate Credit for the 2021 tax year in March.

According to a 2023 U.S. Census report, 92% of potentially eligible individuals received Economic Impact Payments (EIPs), which were $1,200 per eligible individual and $500 per qualifying child, issued between April and December 2020. Approximately 89.5% of Black Americans received stimulus checks while Non-Hispanic White individuals had the highest receipt rate (94%). It’s worth noting that the delivery timing for Black Americans was slightly slower, with EIPs taking longer to arrive compared to Non-Hispanic White and Non-Hispanic Asian recipients, who were more likely to receive their payments within the first six weeks.  

Despite the barrier, the impact of the pandemic on the economy continued to affect Black Americans well into 2021. A CNBC/SurveyMonkey poll found that 50% of Black Americans were counting on another round of government relief, compared to only 22% of White Americans. In 2021, many recipients said they relied heavily on the stimulus checks for everyday expenses (31%). However, a larger proportion of Black respondents used their checks for housing costs compared to White individuals. For Black respondents, 26% spent it on housing, compared to just 12% of White respondents.

 

But at what cost?

If allocated properly and on time, a DOGE refund could provide much-needed relief to help Black communities cut down on the rising costs of living and surviving in American. However, it’s a double-edged sword. While the check could be helpful, it could also come at the cost of millions of federal government jobs being lost, along with funding for agencies that support programs indirectly benefiting Black communities. Black workers make up 18.6% of the federal workforce, according to 2024 data from Pew Research. If they lose their jobs, how will they make ends meet? With the future of the Department of Education and its federal funding at risk, hundreds of programs dedicated to supporting Black students—such as financial aid, scholarships, housing, graduation ceremonies, and other aspects of academic and campus life—could be jeopardized. The question remains: is receiving this $5,000 check worth the potential consequences?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section. 

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