Dem
47
GOP
53
There was a time when most of our news items were about Donald Trump. We seem to be entering an era when there is more news about Elon Musk than about Trump. That could end up being Musk's Achilles heel, since Trump does not like being upstaged.
Elon Musk hasn't been co-president that long, but is already beginning to act like a politician. He is proposing that the federal government send taxpayers a check to be financed from all the savings the DOGEYs are generating. His plan is to refund taxpayers 20% of the $2 trillion he plans to cut. He will no doubt sell the idea to Co-President Trump by suggesting that Trump's name be on all the checks. There is a famous saying to the effect of: "There is no limit to what you can accomplish if you don't care who gets the credit." Musk has that down pat.
It's a sharp political move, to be sure. But it would have to be approved by Congress. It is also completely fiscally irresponsible given the huge deficit and plans for more tax cuts, but who cares about that? Depending on how it is done, it might require a stand-alone vote in Congress. If Democrats voted against (and killed) a plan to send everyone free money, Trump could trumpet: "I feel your pain and wanted to send you free money but those dastardly Democrats blocked me."
Of course, there is no way Musk can cut $2 trillion from the budget in a serious way unless he
takes an ax to the military, Social Security, and/or Medicare/Medicaid. Trump could pretend that
vast amounts have been cut from the federal budget by Elon's eager beavers Muskrats. Most
voters wouldn't know or care. They would just know they got $5,000 for free. Of course, that would
cause inflation and blow an even bigger hole in the budget, but Trump likes wins and things he can
crow about, so he might agree.
Will that happen? There is a long road ahead. In particular, a few of the budget hawks in the House, like Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Ralph Norman (R-SC), might simply block it. Then they would get the blame. They probably wouldn't mind becoming famous for trying to avoid blowing a giant hole in the budget. (V)