President Donald Trump recently posted on Truth Social about a potential $2,000 dividend for Americans, excluding high-income individuals.
WINK News spoke with an expert who said the country hasn’t generated enough tax revenue to support such a large rebate, making the likelihood of receiving $2,000 slim.
President Trump stated, “We are now the richest, most respected country in the world,” and claimed that tariffs have generated trillions of dollars for the U.S.
He added that a dividend of at least $2,000 per person would be paid to everyone.
Warner interviewed several people in downtown Fort Myers to gather their opinions on the proposed bonus check.
“Hey, I think everybody could use it, especially now the way things have gone and post-COVID,” said one individual.
Another person suggested, “I think the money would be better applied to either reducing the national debt or propping up Social Security.”
“You can’t feel anything but good,” said another. “You shouldn’t, especially if it’s surplus, but we have a pretty big debt that we need to be working on, but I think they’re looking at that also, but I’ll take the money. Take the money. Can’t be mad about that.”
Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, advised caution in anticipation of the funds.
“This may be more of a political announcement than a very serious policy proposal,” said Jewett. “The numbers just don’t add up. You know what President Trump is saying has been brought in in tariffs and how they can send $2,000 to every household or every person, it just doesn’t add up, because not enough money has been brought in by those tariffs, and thus there wouldn’t be enough to actually make these payments.”
There is a possibility that the $2,000 could come as a tax credit instead of a direct deposit, as suggested by the U.S. Treasury Secretary. However, details on when Americans can expect this remain unclear.