The Hypocrisy of DOGE Checks: Analyzing the Right’s Reactions

Good morning! This is Part 2 of my “Good Morning, Having Coffee with Me, Professor Alex” segment. Here’s a summary of my podcast and YouTube video where I focus on the DOGE check, sometimes referred to as the DOGE dividend check or stimulus check.

Listen to this podcast.

The Hypocrisy of the Right with DOGE Checks

I want to address something I not only find funny but also hypocritical. It’s for those on the right who believe they’re going to get a $5,000 check from “DOGE” (Department of Government Efficiency). Let’s talk about that nonsense. Apparently, DOGE has found kajillions of dollars in fraud in five minutes. We all know that’s ridiculous. Just ask anyone with an accounting degree. But even if true, why would they have to cut billions in MEDICAID? Can’t those “billions and billions” be used to fund MEDICAID?

DOGE claims a 19-year-old kid who calls himself “Big Balls” on social media, as well as others in their early 20s, with no forensic accounting background, created code in five minutes that can find this fraud. Seriously? The fact that Edward “Big Balls” Coristine is related to a KGB defector doesn’t ease my mind. He was even fired for leaking company secrets.

DOGE is just firing people and shrinking the federal workforce. I’ve said endlessly, dating back to President Trump’s first term, that he wanted to shrink the federal government by trying to make everything a state issue, which sounds great until the states are running in the red and now have to increase taxes.

These firings and other cost-cutting measures will have financial repercussions. Whether it’s decreased home values in those areas, which lowers the property tax, which lowers tax revenue. It’s a vicious cycle.  

Now, about this “DOGE” check that you will never see. It started with a social media post asking why not issue refunds or a dividend from all the fraud they’ve found. Isn’t that “spreading the wealth”? Isn’t that exactly what the right hates? Entitlements, free money, socialism? It sounds like Alaska.

Let’s talk about Alaska. I’ve written blogs about the 18 states that opposed student loan forgiveness during the Biden administration. They’re against free money, handouts, and free education. But do your research. Governor Pritzker of Illinois has a program where they’ll wipe out up to $40,000 in student loans if you buy a home. Many states have programs for first-time homebuyers, offering down payment assistance if you live there for a certain period.

Mathematically, it makes sense. If they give you $20,000 in down payment assistance and you stay for 10 years, they get more than that back in tax revenue. It’s like a loan.

The 18 states opposing student loan forgiveness made a financial mistake. If they’d wiped out student debt for people who agreed to stay for 10 years, they’d collect tax revenue and boost the economy.

Then there’s Alaska, a red state teetering on socialism. Every resident gets a check of approximately $2,500 from the Alaska Permanent Fund, which comes from oil revenue. A family of four gets $10,000. That’s about $800 extra a month for doing nothing. I find it hypocritical that Alaska opposes student loans as “entitlements” and “socialism” when they’ve been doing it all along.

With DOGE, I’ve seen numbers as high as $8,000. People don’t understand the math, apparently. The refund, when averaged out, you’re lucky if it equals the price of a cup of coffee. But let’s say it’s true, and you get thousands of free socialist dollars. Isn’t that more government waste? And only people who pay into Social Security would get it? What about someone who died yesterday after paying into it for 50 years? Does that person’s family get anything? Does someone who started working yesterday get a check?

The fact is that employee salaries are a small percentage of the federal government budget. So, what little is saved will result in a  “Trump recession” or “Trumpflation.” But with DOGE, how does this not add up to more government waste? They save a dollar and then send it right back out? Even if it’s not considered waste, free money leads to inflation, so don’t complain when the interest rates go up.

This idea of a $5,000 DOGE dividend check is socialism and another form of entitlement programs, which I thought the right hated. Unlike Social Security, which works like a retirement account, you pay in, and you get paid out. What’s this DOGE check for? What did you do to earn it? Why would everyone get $5,000? Shouldn’t someone who works harder get paid more? What about the business owner who works 80 hours a week? Do they get the same as someone working part-time or someone who just started working one year ago? It’s ridiculous.

It’s nothing more than hypocrisy on the right. Read their Facebook threads because they are hilarious. They argue the left should reject the funds. Did they reject the Trump COVID checks? No, they cashed them. What’s the difference now? The difference is rationalization. They see “free money” and criticize the left for wanting free healthcare and free college tuition. But then again, they get their talking points from Fox News and regurgitate what they hear.

My advice to the right who are excited about these “DOGE” checks is that for the sake of consistency, they should return those checks and say, “No, thank you, I’m a patriot. I want these funds applied to the federal deficit.” They are, of course, now pushing the narrative that it is patriotic to pay more. If you’re Elon Musk, you don’t mind paying more. But I’m not. It’s not patriotic; it’s math and economics. It’s about my personal economy. I shouldn’t have to go bankrupt to prove my patriotism.

Do you know what would be patriotic? Elon Musk can create a foundation for underprivileged families where homes are provided, as well as free access to the internet, computers, and education. Teach technology early on to these children to guarantee our place in tech for decades to come. He can donate $200 billion and still have $200 billion left. That should be more than enough to cover his personal expenses.

So, for those of you on the right, reject those checks as patriots and let the socialist left accept them. That’s the reality. Otherwise, you’re a hypocrite. Go to Alaska. Enjoy your coffee.

Update:

How much fraud did DOGE find?

Internal documents reportedly show that only two cases out of 110,000 showed potential improper benefits at the Social Security agency. That equals less than 0.0018%. As an avid golfer, that means I have more golf balls in my golf bag than incidents of fraud were found.

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