CNN’s Michael Smerconish pushed back on DOGE expert James Fishback idea of offering American taxpayers a 20 percent “DOGE Dividend.”
In an interview on Saturday, Fishback, the chief executive of the investment firm Azoria, claims that under his plan every American household would receive $5,000 checks if the Elon Musk led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts $2 trillion in federal spending.
Fishback argued that the initiative would incentivize Americans to help root out government waste, fraud and abuse.
But Smerconish pushed back, comparing the plan to a ponzi scheme and “a fraud.”
“I have a very simple premise here. We’re $36 trillion in debt. It’s a fraud,” he said in a clip highlighted by Mediaite. “As much as I want to see us cut waste, fraud and abuse, it is an absolute fraud to say to the American people because of what Musk is doing, we have five grand to give each of you.”
“The only way we have five grand is if we’re borrowing it because we’re that far in debt,” the host continued. “I’m trying to meet you halfway, which is simply to say, what a good thing that finally we’re going to look at waste, fraud and abuse, albeit it shouldn’t be in this haphazard fashion, but let’s at least be honest with the American people that whatever we quote unquote save, we already owe.”
Sending $5,000 checks to Americans would require congressional approval and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is already on record opposing the idea and arguing that any money DOGE claims it save be used to pay off the debt.
“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?” Johnson said at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday.
