Trump plans to issue 20% "bonus" checks, but the DOGE reduction plan is still being questioned

Author of the article: Aaron Wood Article Source: Cointelegraph Article compilation: Ada, MetaEra Recently, the U.S. Department of Efficiency (DOGE) announced that it saved $550 billion for American taxpayers, but an anonymous cryptocurrency detective named Momentum Chaser has questioned its claims and requested the agency to revise its data - the latest development in a series of dramatic events affecting Americans. DOGE, led by Tesla founder Elon Musk, currently states on its website that they have reduced federal spending by $550 billion and downsized certain agencies. However, according to Momentum Chaser, the actual reduction figure is much lower. U.S. President Donald Trump said that 20% of the funds 'saved' by DOGE can be directly paid to American taxpayers, and another 20% will be used to repay national debt. The New York Times and The Huffington Post, among other news media, have also criticized the data of DOGE. Despite the modification of DOGE's data, it still insists that the final reduced budget amount is 550 billion US dollars, which has raised doubts among observers about the credibility of the department responsible for reducing government waste.

DOGE reduction amount is below the reported level After the temporary committee was established, Musk immediately set out to identify and cut areas he believed the federal government was wasting money on. Musk said he expected to cut about $2 trillion in spending from the federal budget at a rate of $4 billion a day. So far, the agency has reported cuts of about $55 billion.

The idea of 'DOGE dividends' originally came from James Fishback, the CEO of investment firm Azoria. According to reports, he is an external advisor to DOGE and proposed the idea on X. The plan will distribute 20 trillion USD to approximately '79 million taxpaying households,' which are 'net taxpayers' of income tax. In the end, each household will receive about 5,000 USD in dividends. At first glance, the Trump administration saved $55 billion within the first 30 days of taking office, and DOGE seems poised to achieve a $2 trillion goal, but some doubt whether the organization accurately reported its budget cuts. User X Momentum Chaser pointed out several calculation errors in the DOGE report. First, a Department of Homeland Security contract worth 8 million USD was incorrectly reported as 80 billion USD.

Another large project shows that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) appears to have nearly $2 billion distributed among three $655 million contracts (USAID is one of the first institutions targeted by DOGE). However, it has been reported that DOGE also made a mistake in calculating this: it is an Irregular Delivery Contract (IDV) rather than a regular contract. The amount was mistakenly calculated three times - the total amount is 6.55 billion US dollars, while the actual amount awarded is only 73 million US dollars. The user also cited several other examples, all of which were updated on the DOGE website the next day to reflect the correct amounts. However, the total of 550 billion dollars remained unchanged - a discrepancy also noted by The New York Times.

Controversial cuts have disrupted government services Given DOGE's business scope and pace of advancement, as well as the legal controversies it has sparked in its activities, this accounting inconsistency is particularly worthy of attention. As DOGE has cut many services and funds that many people consider crucial, about 14 states in the United States have filed restraining order applications against the organization, but they have been rejected by federal judges. According to the Associated Press, DOGE has laid off more than 1,000 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs in the United States who provide healthcare and other support to veterans, including researchers working on 'cancer treatment, opioid addiction, prosthetics, and burn pit exposure'. It also dismissed special education and student aid experts from the Department of Education, including cutting $0.9 billion from the Institute of Education Sciences, which tracks student progress. In addition, many people claim that these cuts are wrong, and these actions may reflect Musk's personal dissatisfaction with certain government agencies.

Amid escalating controversy, the White House deemed it necessary to clarify Musk's role. On February 17, the White House issued a statement, stating that Musk is a special advisor to the president, not a DOGE employee, and does not have the authority to make decisions. Just two days later, Trump seems to be singing a different tune with his own government. Reuters reported that he told the crowd in Miami, 'I signed an order to establish a Department of Government Efficiency and appointed a person named Elon Musk to head the department.' Leaving aside the controversy and the accounting inconsistencies, DOGE seems to be showing no signs of slowing down, with reports suggesting that the US Securities and Exchange Commission will be its next regulatory target.