DOGE seeks access to personal taxpayer data
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@Horace Here is the article from Bloomberg
President Donald Trump suggested that some savings from his federal cost-cutting effort, overseen by billionaire Elon Musk, could be sent back to US taxpayers, with another portion being used to reduce the national deficit.
“There’s even under consideration a new concept where we give 20% of the DOGE savings to American citizens, and 20% goes to paying down debt, because the numbers are incredible,” Trump said referring to his Department of Government Efficiency effort during an address Wednesday at an investment summit backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in Miami.
Trump’s idea has been floated previously by Musk, who was in attendance for the address. Musk responded this week to a post on his social media platform X suggesting that Trump announce a “DOGE Dividend” with a $5,000 tax refund check sent to taxpaying households, saying he would “check with the President.”
The remarks were the latest signal that Trump is working to justify his DOGE effort, which has sent shockwaves through Washington as Musk’s moves to slash the federal government’s spending and workforce invite legal challenges and questions over the effort’s authority and powers.
Critics have argued that the slash-and-burn style of canceled contracts and worker layoffs risk crippling critical government services while doing little to deliver long-term taxpayer savings. And Trump and Musk have repeatedly overstated the amount of realized taxpayer savings — casting doubt on whether ambitious goals to significantly slash spending could be met.
While the White House has claimed some $55 billion in savings so far, itemized documents posted by the group suggest the actual savings are only a fraction of that amount. Sending 20% of the roughly $8.6 billion of DOGE savings the group has so far listed on its website would amount to about $11 per taxpayer.
Still, some 75,000 federal workers took a offer for a buyout offer, Trump said, arguing it would provide long-term savings to the government. And Trump and Musk have argued that the biting cuts are necessary given the nation’s debt.
The US recorded an annual deficit of $1.8 trillion in the last fiscal year, and deficits are on track to rise over the next decade, adding further to government red ink. The US would need to eliminate those budget shortfalls before even beginning to make a dent in its $29 trillion debt load.
@taiwan_girl Thanks TG!
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@Jolly said in DOGE seeks access to personal taxpayer data:
Trump spitballing, as usual.
Are you 100% sure it's spit?
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While the White House has claimed some $55 billion in savings so far, itemized documents posted by the group suggest the actual savings are only a fraction of that amount. Sending 20% of the roughly $8.6 billion of DOGE savings the group has so far listed on its website would amount to about $11 per taxpayer.
$11 per tax payer might be affordable.
Re the inflated claims of Doge, I’ve seen some analyses. Some real amateur stuff there, eg canceling an 8B contract that’s in (say) year 6 out of 8 and claiming the full $8B as savings. That kind of thing.
@jon-nyc said in DOGE seeks access to personal taxpayer data:
While the White House has claimed some $55 billion in savings so far, itemized documents posted by the group suggest the actual savings are only a fraction of that amount. Sending 20% of the roughly $8.6 billion of DOGE savings the group has so far listed on its website would amount to about $11 per taxpayer.
$11 per tax payer might be affordable.
Re the inflated claims of Doge, I’ve seen some analyses. Some real amateur stuff there, eg canceling an 8B contract that’s in (say) year 6 out of 8 and claiming the full $8B as savings. That kind of thing.
I'll take what I can get. Remind me again of how much money we've clawed back since the first Clinton Administration?
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I'd rather they didn't bother giving me the $11. Just let Melania buy herself something nice with it.
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While the White House has claimed some $55 billion in savings so far, itemized documents posted by the group suggest the actual savings are only a fraction of that amount. Sending 20% of the roughly $8.6 billion of DOGE savings the group has so far listed on its website would amount to about $11 per taxpayer.
$11 per tax payer might be affordable.
Re the inflated claims of Doge, I’ve seen some analyses. Some real amateur stuff there, eg canceling an 8B contract that’s in (say) year 6 out of 8 and claiming the full $8B as savings. That kind of thing.
@jon-nyc said in DOGE seeks access to personal taxpayer data:
While the White House has claimed some $55 billion in savings so far, itemized documents posted by the group suggest the actual savings are only a fraction of that amount. Sending 20% of the roughly $8.6 billion of DOGE savings the group has so far listed on its website would amount to about $11 per taxpayer.
Hey, that’s a dozen eggs…
I think there’s two lists, one is identified abuses and spending that is not in the best interest of the country…
They have identified $55 Billion in waste and fraud, but can only cut $8.6B as much of that is already spent or irrevocably committed. However, the identification of the abuse and waste helps prevent it from becoming a regular line item going forward.
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Where I'm not particularly happy is where I thought I would not be, the foreign relations area.
@Mik said in DOGE seeks access to personal taxpayer data:
Where I'm not particularly happy is where I thought I would not be, the foreign relations area.
I’ve got my eyes on defense spending…
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the DOGE claim in a recent post on X that it succeeded in selling off a historic Washington, D.C., property that has been boarded up for years.
The historic Webster School building was actually sold at auction in December for $4 million under the Biden administration. Records show that a company called Webster School LLC with members Katie Dang and Hung Tran were the purchasers. The sale appears to have been finalized on Feb. 5, 2025.
