A desperate email hit my inbox today: a husband, voice breaking through text, juggling care for his sick wife, aging parents, and his own failing health. “Any help for home caregivers?” he pleaded. The answer stings: almost none. While 65 million Americans like him deliver $600 billion in unpaid care for the most vulnerable among us — propping up this nation — Washington incinerates billions on fraud and incompetence.
Caregivers don’t just struggle to survive — we have to jump through bureaucratic hoops to prove it.
The Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) has exposed the rot in weeks, prompting Trump to tease a $5,000 “DOGE Dividend” for taxpayers. It’s a flicker of hope, but caregivers need more than a token.
These 65 million aren’t just numbers — they’re America’s backbone caring for the most vulnerable among us. Their $600 billion in unpaid labor nearly matches the $700 billion defense budget, yet they’re mostly untrained, unsupported, and tragically — many are nearly broke. One in five shells out $7,200 yearly out-of-pocket, per AARP, slashing savings or skipping meals.
AARP focuses heavily on caregivers of the aging — but what about the others? Single parents raising special-needs kids? Family members caring for loved ones with mental illness or addiction? Expand the scope, and the crisis is even more staggering.
The husband’s plea echoes millions: a waitress tending her spouse, a tech exec bankrolling aides for Mom, me fighting $15 million in medical bills over 40 years for my wife. If you love someone, you’ll likely be a caregiver. Live long enough, you’ll need one.
D.O.G.E.’s findings torch Washington’s waste machine. In a month, it’s uncovered fraud that’d shame a cartel — billions bleeding out while family caregivers ration hope. Senator Chuck Schumer whined on February 11, 2025: “Everyone knows there’s waste in government that should be cut. But D.O.G.E. is using a meat axe, and they’re cutting things that are efficient and effective.”
What tool would Chuck prefer? When you’ve spent decades cutting red tape lengthwise, maybe the problem isn’t the axe — it’s the hands holding it.
Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) scoffed at Trump’s idea that he floated about the $5,000 dividend on February 20: “I don’t know what $5,000 will do for you.”
If she doesn’t know, allow me to provide a cursory look at the reality for family caregivers.
At $29 per hour for home care — an approximate rate depending upon location — that $5,000 translates to 172 hours: a month of full-time relief or six months part-time. For families drowning, it’s not “nothing”; it’s oxygen. But Crockett’s half-right: $5,000 won’t touch $20,000 monthly care costs. Caregivers need targeted lifelines — tax credits, home-care grants — not just a check. Schumer and Crockett’s gripes ring hollow when billions vanish and caregivers get zilch.
The system’s a shredder. Financial “experts” bleat: “Cut expenses!” (Done.) “Save more!” (With what?) “Budget better!” (For a $20,000 ER hit?) Useless.
Caregivers and Bureaucracy
Caregivers don’t just struggle to survive — we have to jump through bureaucratic hoops to prove it. Many of us hire CPAs just to avoid the IRS’s wrath. Even if we owe little, we’re buried in paperwork, drowning in receipts, and terrified of making a single mistake — while Washington squanders billions without consequence.
Trump’s nodded to caregivers before — signing the RAISE Family Caregivers Act in 2018. Now, with D.O.G.E. and a dividend in play, he’s got a chance to deliver. But promises don’t cover bills. That husband can’t wait — nor can 65 million others. Every decision — skip a med, delay an aide — rips through at least two lives.
A $5,000 check’s a gesture; real relief means funding home care, not just trimming fat.
Trump and Musk want efficiency? Start with the people keeping America alive. Simplify the tax code. Stop hemorrhaging money confiscated from families just trying to do the right thing.
Caregivers don’t get Washington’s dithering luxury. We act — lives depend on it. That man’s email’s a flare from a sinking ship. Trump, Congress, anyone: stop torching our money and throw us a rope.
READ MORE from Peter Rosenberger:
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Peter Rosenberger hosts the nationally syndicated program Hope for the Caregiver. His most recent book is A Minute for Caregivers – When Every Day Feels Like Monday. PeterRosenberger.com
