Several Americans were left fuming at the US government’s “audacity” in accepting “gifts” via Venmo and PayPal to reduce the country’s ballooning $36.7 trillion debt.
The US Treasury Department on Friday said that it is now accepting these digital payment platforms on the “Gifts to Reduce the Public Debt” page on Pay.gov. The US public debt has increased by a whopping 87% from $19.59 trillion in 2010.
However, taxpayers on social media platforms were unhappy to learn about this donation program, which has existed since 1996.
Here’s how netizens reacted:
Americans were angry about this latest push from the US Treasury Department for public donations to “help” the massive national debt. They pointed out that each citizen is already paying the county 40% of their salary in tax.
“They literally steal 40% of your money and they have the audacity to want donations?” an angry American said.
“Wow, so now they want more money on top of my TAXES they take from me,” added another.
A social media user wondered if the donation would amount to a tax write-off. “The ironic part is that it’s probably not a tax write-off,” he said.
“I hope the Treasury will report their own Venmo payments to the IRS,” an American joked.
However, a few irked users responded hilariously to this new initiative and claimed, “This might be the silliest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Ummm. How about no,” said one user.
“Are we poor?” asked another.
A user asked, “What’s next? A Go Fund Me?”
“WTF was the point of DOGE?” questioned a user.
“Tell Israel to donate all the money that was given to them,” quipped a user. They even tagged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said, “Don’t forget to help your best ally, the USA, pay the debt.”
A user wondered, “Who would do this?”
According to US Treasury data, the public has contributed $67.3 million since 1996, a figure that remains negligible compared to the federal debt.
“Big, Beautiful Bill” to add another $3.4 trillion to national debt
The recently enacted “Big, Beautiful Bill” by US President Donald Trump is expected to add $3.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, according to estimates from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.
The legislation has sparked controversy, drawing sharp criticism from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who condemned the move for raising the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, fueling a public spat between him and Trump.
Amid mounting concerns, the US Treasury’s latest push for public donations has been met with scepticism. The growing debt continues to cast doubt on the long-term sustainability of US fiscal policy and the impact of such symbolic efforts.