Brian Armstrong proposes U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund to pay dividends via D.O.G.E
Savings or new money for bureaucrats?
The idea of a D.O.G.E department tasked with cutting inefficient U.S. government spending could evolve into a Sovereign Wealth Fund.
This concept was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong.
According to Armstrong, the Government Efficiency Department (D.O.G.E), proposed by President-elect Donald Trump, is a "unique opportunity" to "reduce the size of government to a healthy level."
Legislative implementation could involve a constitutional amendment limiting overall government spending. Armstrong suggested introducing a law that would bar any congressperson who votes for a deficit budget from re-election.
However, Armstrong acknowledged that the U.S. must retain a mechanism to increase federal spending when necessary while reducing expenditures in the long term.
He proposed a U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund, where every citizen owns a share (and could potentially buy more if desired), and any budget surplus would generate dividends.
Armstrong suggested that the management of this fund and dividend distribution could be entrusted to the D.O.G.E department, which Trump has reportedly tasked business leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead in his administration.
Savings or new money for bureaucrats?
While innovative for the U.S., the idea of a sovereign wealth fund that accumulates and grows government revenues is not new. Countries like Singapore, Norway, the UAE, and Kazakhstan already use such funds to finance large-scale industrial and infrastructure projects, support citizens in need, or fill budget deficits during lean years.
It is difficult to predict how the fund under D.O.G.E's management might operate, but it is notable that an initiative aimed at budget efficiency could ultimately evolve into the creation of another bureaucratic structure.
This institution, with significant resources, would likely be managed by individuals from the new president's inner circle.
Stuart Alderoty, Chief Legal Officer (CLO) of Ripple, has publicly urged Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) to scrutinize the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its spending practices.
