An idea proposed for the first time on social media bumbled into the White House and received the enthusiastic support of President Donald Trump: take some savings from billionaire Elon Musk’s drive to cut the government’s expenses and return taxpayers.
“I like it,” Trump said on the Air Force one late on Wednesday, when asked about the proposal.
If the expenses of the mask achieve $ 2 trillion target in the cut by next year, the supporters of the idea say that about one-fifth of those funds can be distributed to corporate families in a check of about $ 5,000.
But before you start planning for a windfall, budget experts say that such a big savings – the annual spending of the federal government is almost one -third – not highly likely. And sending a round of checks – the President who fuel the biden – inflation during the epidemic and then during the epidemic, was warned by the economists, although the officials of the White House rejected that concern.
Last year with annual budget deficit in $ 1.8 trillion and Trump proposed a comprehensive tax deduction, there would be significant pressure to use all savings to reduce that deficit, instead of passing it on its part. .
What do you know about the proposal here:
Where is it coming from?
James Fishback, founder of Investment firm Azoria Partners, he launched at Trump’s Mar-e-Lago Estate in Florida, promoted the consciousness on X on Tuesday, who was earlier known as Twitter, Ko was to Musk Inspired to respond that he would “investigate with the President.” Fishback said that the issue with White House officials had also had a “behind the curtain”.
Musk has estimated that his official efficiency department has so far cut $ 55 billion – a small fraction of $ 6.8 trillion federal budget. But Dogi’s public statements have not yet verified the prescribed savings, and its claims are that millions of dead people have been disorganized by cheating social security.
Fishback Nonpartison supports the Congress’s budget office, determining how much Dogge saves. If Dogo Dogi cuts $ 500 billion by July 2026, they said, the check will be $ 1,250 instead of $ 5,000.
“We highlighted heavy waste, fraud and abuse,” Fishback said in an interview with the Associated Press. “And we are going to make good and paying restoration and then will re -write the social contract between the taxpayer and the federal government.”
The fishback supports sending checks rather than using all funds to reduce deficit, as it will encourage Americans to seek “in their communities” useless government expenses, and report to the dog. ,
When I am going to get my check?
Okay, let’s slow. According to the proposal, Dogge must first complete his work, should be done by July 2026. Once this happens, one-fifth part of any savings can be distributed to about 79 million houses later that year that pay income tax. About 40% of Americans do not pay such taxes, so they will not get a check.
How much can Dogi really save?
Color Most economists and budget experts suspected that its focus on “waste, fraud and misuse” could actually reduce the government’s expenses greatly. Budget -cutters of both sides have sought to eliminate “waste” – which has not much of a political constituency – for decades, with a little success in reducing the deficit.
One of the biggest tricks so far by the Trump administration is to fire thousands of government employees, but such changes are unlikely to be a big savings.
“Only a small part of the total expenditure goes to federal employees,” said Douglas Elmdorf, former director of the Congress budget office. “Large money is in federal benefits and federal taxes and they are not under the purview of Dogi.”
In November, John Dulio Jr., a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote in an essay for the Brookings Institution that “the end of the entire federal civilian work force will be at 95% of all federal expenses and $ 34 trillion national date. ‘
It is also not clear how much the Congress can get in savings without coding the law.
Elmandorf said, “Firing does not save someone until the Congress returns and reduces the appropriation for that employee’s agency.” “If you fire someone, but leave the appropriation, where it is, then that money can be spent on something else. So Dogge cannot really get savings until the legislative legislative There is no change either. “
Will another round of government investigation not contribute to high inflation?
Trump and his economists blamed Biden’s $ 1,400 excitement tests, distributed in the spring of 2021 to promote the worst spike in inflation in four decades. Nevertheless, they say that sending checks arising out of low government expense will not promote inflation.
Kevin Husset, director of the National Economic Council of the White House, said on Thursday that since the government would have spent the money anyway, it was spent by the consumers. During the epidemics, Biden and Trump’s stimulation check was funded by deficit, which could be more inflation.
But Ernie Tedchi, director of economics at Yale Budget Lab and an economist at Biden White House, said that more government investigation is “the last thing we need financially.”
The US unemployment rate is now much lower than 2021, said Tedchi, which means that business can struggle to hire enough workers to meet the additional demand created by a round of checks. A worker shortage can increase prices.
Nevertheless some Democrats agree with Haset, but for various reasons.
“I can’t imagine that they would be inflation because I could not imagine they would be quite large,” said the senior Fellow Ellen Kamark of Governance Studies at Brookings Institution.
Kamaark, who worked with Vice President Al Gor to cut government waste in the Clinton administration, dismissed Dogi dividend as “ridiculous”.
“There is no money, and of course there is not enough money to make a big contribution for taxpayers,” he said. “The man just says things,” he said, referring to Kasturi.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
