Latest news with #FIIPRIORITYSummit
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Is a $5,000 DOGE stimulus check a real thing? What we know
In February, President Donald Trump said he was considering a plan to pay out $5,000 stimulus checks to American taxpayers from the savings identified by billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Are they happening? No official plan or schedule for such a payout has been released, and a decision on the checks would have to come from Congress, which has so far been cool to the idea. And there have been questions as to how much DOGE has actually saved. The idea was floated by Azoria investment firm CEO James Fishback, who suggested on Musk's social media platform X that Trump and Musk should "should announce a 'DOGE Dividend'" from the money saved from reductions in government waste and workforce since it was American taxpayer money in the first place. He even submitted a proposal for how it would work, with a timeline for after the expiration of DOGE in July 2026. "At $2 trillion in DOGE savings and 78 million tax-paying households, this is a $5,000 refund per household, with the remaining used to pay down the national debt," he said in a separate post. Musk replied, "Will check with the President." "We're considering giving 20% of the DOGE savings to American citizens and 20% to paying down the debt," Trump said in a during the Saudi-sponsored FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami Beach the same month. DOGE has dismantled entire federal agencies, wiped out government contracts and led the firings of tens of thousands of federal workers, leaving many agencies struggling to continue operations. DOGE checks? Elon Musk dodges DOGE stimulus check question during Wisconsin rally: Here's what he said. Fishbeck suggested that the potential refund go only to households that are net-income taxpayers, or households that pay more in taxes than they get back. The Pew Research Center said that most Americans with an adjusted gross income of under $40,000 effectively pay no federal income tax. They would not be eligible. If DOGE achieves Musk's initial goal of stripping $2 trillion from U.S. government spending by 2026, Fishback's plan was for $5,000 per household, or 20% of the savings divided by the number of eligible households. If DOGE doesn't hit the goal, Fishback said the amount should be adjusted accordingly. 'So again, if the savings are only $1 trillion, which I think is awfully low, the check goes from $5,000 to $2,500,' Fishback said during a podcast appearance. 'If the savings are only $500 billion, which, again, is really, really low, then the [checks] are only $1,250.' However, while Musk talked about saving $2 trillion in federal spending during Trump's campaign, he lowered the goal to $1 trillion after Trump assumed office and said in March he was on pace to hit that goal by the end of May. At a Cabinet meeting in April, Musk lowered the projected savings further to $150 billion in fiscal year 2026. Musk left the White House at the end of May when his designation as a "special government employee" ended. DOGE, the advisory group he created, is expected to continue without him. That depends on who you ask. On its website, DOGE claims to have saved an estimated $175 billion as of May 30, "a combination of asset sales, contract and lease cancellations and renegotiations, fraud and improper payment deletions, grant cancellations, interest savings, programmatic changes, regulatory savings, and workforce reductions." The site says that works out to $1,086.96 saved per taxpayer. However, many of DOGE's claims have been exaggerated and several of the initiatives to slash agency workforces have been challenged in court. DOGE has been accused of taking credit for contracts that were canceled before DOGE was created, failing to factor in funds the government is required to pay even if a contract is canceled, and tallying every contract by the most that could possibly be spent on it even when nothing near that amount had been obligated. The website list has been changed as the media pointed out errors, such as a claim that an $8 million savings was actually $8 billion. On May 30, CNN reported that one of its reporters found that less than half the $175 billion figure was backed up with even basic documentation, making verification difficult if not impossible. Some of the changes may also end up costing taxpayers more, such as proposed slashes to the Internal Revenue Service that experts say would mean less tax revenue generated, resulting in a net cost of about $6.8 billion. Over the next 10 years, if IRS staffing stays low, the cumulative cost in uncollected taxes would hit $159 billion, according to the nonpartisan Budget Lab at Yale University. The per-taxpayer claim on the website is also inflated, CNN said, as it's based on '161 million individual federal taxpayers' and doesn't seem to include married people filing jointly. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: DOGE dividends: Will American taxpayers get a $5,000 check?
USA Today
01-04-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Elon Musk dodges DOGE stimulus check question during Wisconsin rally: Here's what he said.
Elon Musk dodges DOGE stimulus check question during Wisconsin rally: Here's what he said. Show Caption Hide Caption Watch the moment Elon Musk admits DOGE checks may never come Elon Musk admitted that DOGE stimulus checks for taxpayers will be subject to congressional approval or President Donald Trump. Elon Musk, the face of the Department of Governmental Efficiency, dodged questions about a potential DOGE stimulus check during a rally in Wisconsin Sunday. The billionaire and Tesla CEO ceded that any stimulus from DOGE's dubious savings would have to go through a congressional vote. "It's somewhat up to Congress and maybe the president to, you know, as to whether specific checks are cut," Musk said. Musk said that Americans would feel the impact of the broad and deep cuts his team is making in the form of relief from inflation. "As government spending is made more efficient and spending is reduced, the tax by inflation is reduced," Musk said. The February core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, one of the Federal Reserve's inflation measures, came in higher than expected Friday. How did the idea of a DOGE stimulus start? President Donald Trump said that he was considering an idea first proposed by an investment firm CEO to issue stimulus checks to Americans DOGE in February. "We're considering giving 20% of the DOGE savings to American citizens and 20% to paying down the debt," Trump said in a tangent during the Saudi-sponsored FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami Beach. The pronouncement came on the same day as reporting from USA TODAY showed that DOGE's website published misleading information on the amount of money it has claimed to save, including a nearly $8 billion error. Stimulus payments from DOGE savings were floated by Azoria investment firm CEO James Fishback, who lobbied on X for Musk to issue a stimulus check based on the claimed savings. Others on the platform and TikTok echoed the sentiment, with one video claiming, on dubious factual grounds, that taxpayers could get as much as $8,000. Musk responded to Fishback's post, saying, "Will check with the President."
Forbes
21-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
MoonPay's Iron Acquisition Signals Stablecoin Industry Consolidation
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 20: Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO & Co-Founder, MoonPay, speaks during the ... More second day of the FII PRIORITY Summit held at the Faena Hotel on February 20, 2025 in Miami Beach, Florida. The summit brings together global leaders with a special focus on the Global South to develop strategies to address pressing international issues in areas including healthcare, education, sustainability and AI. (Photo by) The stablecoin industry is witnessing a wave of strategic acquisitions as companies position themselves for dominance in the rapidly expanding digital payments landscape. MoonPay's recent acquisition of Iron, an API-driven stablecoin infrastructure startup, marks yet another significant consolidation in this space, revealing a race to build comprehensive stablecoin payment networks that could rival traditional financial rails. MoonPay's Iron acquisition represents its second major purchase in just two months, following the $175 million acquisition of Helio in January. This aggressive expansion strategy closely mirrors competitor Stripe's record-breaking $1.1 billion acquisition of Bridge Network, which was the largest deal in crypto history. "This is our Braintree moment," MoonPay CEO Ivan Soto-Wright told CNBC, referring to PayPal's historic acquisition of the payments processor that now handles nearly $600 billion in annual payment volume for giants like Meta. The comparison is telling: MoonPay sees stablecoin infrastructure as similarly transformative to how Braintree reshaped online payments. MoonPay, valued at $3.4 billion in its last funding round, isn't making these purchases from a position of weakness. The company reported 112% year-over-year net revenue growth in 2024 and is already profitable and cash-flow positive, demonstrating the financial viability of stablecoin-powered business models. What's driving this acquisition frenzy? According to the CNBC report on the MoonPay-Iron deal, stablecoins facilitated an estimated $27 trillion in transfers during 2024 alone. The recent Dune Artemis report provides additional context, showing that stablecoin monthly transfer volume more than doubled year-over-year, reaching $4.1 trillion in February 2025. As Mike Hudack, founder of Sling Money and ex-CPO of Monzo, noted in a recent interview: This efficiency is attracting serious enterprise attention. MoonPay isn't simply acquiring infrastructure to serve crypto enthusiasts. It's building payment rails that could potentially serve major global corporations seeking cheaper, faster cross-border settlement options. The Dune Artemis report reveals stablecoin supply has grown from $138 billion to $225 billion over the past year, marking a 63% year-over-year increase. This expansion isn't just about more coins in circulation. It represents growing mainstream adoption of stablecoin technology. Standard Chartered recently predicted that stablecoins could grow to represent approximately 10% of all foreign exchange transactions, up from just 1% today. This tenfold growth potential explains why companies like MoonPay and Stripe are racing to secure key infrastructure. "Stablecoins are going to be a very important part" of the future payment landscape, Soto-Wright told CNBC. "We think it is an internet-driven payment method you'll see all across the world." While MoonPay focuses on enterprise infrastructure, companies like Sling Money are approaching the stablecoin revolution from a consumer-first perspective. This divergence in strategy creates an interesting competitive dynamic in the industry. MoonPay's acquisition of Iron strengthens its ability to offer businesses stablecoin payment capabilities, similar to how Stripe's Bridge Network acquisition enables merchants to accept stablecoin payments without directly handling digital tokens. In contrast, Sling Money emphasizes self-custody and peer-to-peer transfers, building what Hudack describes as "the WhatsApp of money." Their focus is on making stablecoins accessible to everyday users in both developed and emerging markets. Both approaches have merit. MoonPay's enterprise strategy might lead to faster institutional adoption, while Sling's consumer approach could drive grassroots stablecoin usage. Either way, the infrastructure to support massive stablecoin adoption is being built at an accelerating pace. A key factor enabling these major acquisitions is increasing regulatory clarity around stablecoins in major jurisdictions. The European Union's Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework, Singapore's stablecoin regulations, and progress toward U.S. stablecoin legislation have all provided the certainty needed for major corporate investments. "Circle, USDC's issuer, became the first stablecoin provider licensed under the EU's Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework in 2024," notes the Dune Artemis report, highlighting how regulatory compliance is becoming a competitive advantage rather than a hindrance for stablecoin issuers. This improved regulatory environment makes acquisitions like MoonPay-Iron less risky for both the companies involved and their enterprise customers, who require regulatory certainty before adopting new payment technologies. As MoonPay integrates Iron's technology and Stripe builds on Bridge Network's capabilities, we're likely to see increasingly sophisticated stablecoin payment offerings emerge in the coming months. These platforms will likely focus on seamless fiat on/off ramps for businesses, cross-chain stablecoin liquidity, compliance tools for enterprise stablecoin usage, integration with existing payment processors, and support for multiple stablecoin types. "We think everyone is going to have a digital currency wallet, whether it's inside of a bank account or independently," Soto-Wright explained in his CNBC interview. As this vision materializes, the companies that control the underlying infrastructure will wield significant influence over the future of digital payments. MoonPay's acquisition of Iron represents more than just one company's expansion. It signals a broader maturation of the stablecoin ecosystem from experimental technology to critical financial infrastructure. As consolidation continues and transaction volumes grow, stablecoins are increasingly positioned to challenge traditional payment rails for global dominance. With billions in acquisition capital now flowing into stablecoin infrastructure and monthly transaction volumes reaching trillions of dollars, it's clear that stablecoins have moved beyond the crypto niche and into the mainstream of financial services innovation. The race to build tomorrow's payment rails is now in full swing, and MoonPay's aggressive acquisitions show they're determined to lead the pack.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Could Floridians receive a DOGE stimulus check in 2025? What we know
Could taxpayers be thousands of dollars richer by the end of this year? It's uncertain. There has been a lot of talk about another round of stimulus checks sourced from funds billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency has freed up through workforce reduction and other cost-saving measures. "We're considering giving 20% of the DOGE savings to American citizens and 20% to paying down the debt," President Donald Trump echoed during the FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami last month. Stimulus payments were sent out during Trump's first term, but only after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, Congress passed – and President Trump signed – a $2 trillion bipartisan stimulus package to address the economic struggles caused by pandemic. Are these DOGE checks actually happening? Here's where the idea came from and if lawmakers are supportive. Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 to establish the Department of Government Efficiency to implement the President's DOGE Agenda by "modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity." According to Trump himself last year, DOGE will provide advice and guidance from outside the government and partner with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget to "drive large-scale structural reform and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before." What does 'DOGE' mean? Why new government department shares its name with viral 2010s meme It's not a department, despite the name. Trump tapped Musk and former GOP presidential opponent Vivek Ramaswamy as the heads of the advisory group. Ramaswamy exited the position last month, instead running for governor of Ohio. Trump also signed an executive order last month to direct the federal government to implement a "workforce optimization initiative" created by DOGE, which has been moving rapidly from one department to another to slash spending, gut programs and layoff workers. According to Newsweek, there have been 62,530 federal workers dismissed since the first two months of 2025. The DOGE stimulus checks, or sometimes referred to as "DOGE Dividends," would give taxpayers up to $5,000 back, which would come from the claimed savings that the Department of Government Efficiency accrues on the path to its savings goal of $2 trillion, Trump said in February. According to USA TODAY, James Fishback, CEO of the investment firm, Azoria, first pitched the "DOGE dividend" concept back in February, saying on X that it would be "a tax refund check sent to every taxpayer, funded exclusively with a portion of the total savings delivered by DOGE." In response to Fishback's idea, which he developed a proposal for, Musk said, "Will check with the President." According to Fishback's proposal, the tax refund checks would be sent out after the expiration of DOGE in July 2026. "American taxpayers deserve a 'DOGE Dividend': 20% of the money that DOGE saves should be sent back to hard-working Americans as a tax refund check. It was their money in the first place," Fishback said in a separate X post. "At $2 trillion in DOGE savings and 78 million tax-paying households, this is a $5,000 refund per household, with the remaining used to pay down the national debt." Investopedia defines a dividend as "the percentage of a company's earnings that is paid to its shareholders as their share of the profits." They add that dividends are generally paid quarterly, with the amount decided by the board of directors based on the company's most recent earnings. As for stimulus checks, they are money sent to taxpayers by the federal government, usually in an attempt to stimulate the economy by providing people with some spending money. As of March 14, there has been no actual indication that DOGE will be issuing a stimulus check to taxpayers; nor have any stimulus checks from DOGE savings been formally approved by Congress. While Musk and DOGE have claimed the government over $115 million so far, it is unknown whether that amount is correct or if they will hit their goal of $2 trillion saved. It is also unclear how a stimulus check would progress through Congress, even with Trump as president and Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress. Some lawmakers have spoken against the stimulus checks, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. "Politically, that would be great for us, you know, because everybody gets a check," Johnson said to the crowd. "But 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?" The original idea for DOGE stimulus checks indicated they would be sent to taxpayers. Fishback's four-page proposal for a DOGE dividend described it as a refund "sent only to tax-paying householders." He added that the checks would not be inflationary as they would be "exclusively funded with DOGE-driven savings, unlike COVID stimulus checks which were deficit-financed." Fishback's proposal indicates dividends would be sent to households of a certain income level. In February, Fishback appeared on Steve Ram's podcast and said he thought being employed should be a requirement for receiving the checks. "Think about it — if you're a working-age man who is not currently working, and you know there's a prospect of a DOGE dividend check with your name on it next summer, so long as you get a job and return to the workforce, that's a powerful motivator," he said. USA TODAY contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: DOGE stimulus checks: Could Floridians receive $5K by the end of 2025?
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What are DOGE stimulus checks, and will Wisconsin residents receive them?
As mass firings of federal workers continue, President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have both floated sending Americans stimulus checks with money slashed from the federal budget by the Department of Government Efficiency. In recent weeks, DOGE, led by Musk, has spearheaded the firings of tens of thousands of federal workers, including about 10 employees at a VA medical center in Milwaukee, at least three of whom were veterans. DOGE's federal spending cuts could also jeopardize state programs ranging from cancer research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to the upcoming tourism season at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The hypothetical DOGE stimulus checks, first proposed by a CEO on social media, would rely on additional mass cuts to the federal workforce and government spending. So will Wisconsinites receive a $5,000 check from DOGE? It's unlikely, and here's why: DOGE is far from reaching its total savings goal to make the checks feasible and, even if it reaches the goal, several lawmakers in Congress have signaled they would not support the effort. Any form of stimulus payment issued by the U.S. government, such as the pandemic stimulus checks, must be approved by Congress. When it was first introduced, DOGE said it was aiming to cut as much as $2 trillion a year in federal spending. But even Musk said last month that goal was a "best-case outcome." As of Feb. 26, the DOGE website claims to have cut $65 billion in federal spending, but these numbers are unverified. In fact, an itemized list of DOGE cuts on the website actually totaled closer to $16 billion, according to USA TODAY — and that's including an $8 million contract that DOGE falsely reported as $8 billion, meaning the total is even lower. Agencies that have seen cuts include the Department of Education, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and United States Agency for International Development. The idea of DOGE stimulus checks was first suggested by James Fishback, CEO and co-founder of Azoria Partners, who also recently launched an "anti-woke" investment fund. "President Trump and @ElonMusk should announce a 'DOGE Dividend'—a tax refund check sent to every taxpayer, funded exclusively with a portion of the total savings delivered by DOGE," Fishback wrote on X on Feb. 18. He also proposed the checks should total $5,000 per recipient. Musk responded to Fishback's post, saying, "Will check with the President." Just days after the idea surfaced on social media, Trump voiced his support for the DOGE stimulus checks, according to USA TODAY. At the Saudi-sponsored FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami Beach last week, the president said, "We're considering giving 20% of the DOGE savings to American citizens and 20% to paying down the debt." Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said over the weekend that he would prefer to pay down the federal debt instead of issuing stimulus checks. "Politically, that would be great for us, you know, because everybody gets a check," Johnson said at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference. "But 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." A stimulus payment that is currently being issued to Americans is a check of up to $1,400 from the Internal Revenue Service. The payments are going out to one million Americans who were eligible for — but didn't claim — a Recovery Rebate Credit during the pandemic. Though the IRS has already issued most of these payments, eligible taxpayers who did not file a 2021 tax return can still receive a payment if they file their return and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit by April 15, according to the IRS. Find more information about the IRS stimulus payments here. Mike Snider of USA TODAY contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Will Wisconsin residents get $5,000 DOGE stimulus checks?
