Dave Ramsey's Thoughts On Being Able To Venmo The Government To Help Pay Down The National Debt

Summary

The Ramsey Show Highlights

Episode Title: Dave Ramsey's Thoughts On Being Able To Venmo The Government To Help Pay Down The National Debt
Date: October 6, 2025
Host(s): Members of Ramsey Network (primarily Dave Ramsey, Ken Coleman, and James)

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Episode Overview

This episode centers around a listener question referencing a recent policy: the U.S. Treasury now accepts voluntary Venmo payments from citizens who wish to directly contribute toward reducing the national debt, which has surpassed $36 trillion. Dave Ramsey and co-hosts respond with their characteristically frank, humorous, and skeptical takes on the idea, critiquing both the principle and practicality of such a move.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Initial Reaction: “Screw Them”

• Dave Ramsey uses a movie reference to express disdain for the idea of voluntarily sending more money to the government, quoting Legends of the Fall (Anthony Hopkins’ character) for dramatic effect:

  • “Screw them. Screw them. That’s my answer. That’s my answer. Are you kidding me? The government came up with this idea that we're gonna Venmo my money when they already tax me too much.” — Dave Ramsey [01:10]

• Dave’s blood pressure metaphor is referenced multiple times, highlighting how the policy aggravates him.

2. Mockery of the Policy’s Logic

• Dave and Ken ridicule the notion that citizens would opt to send extra money to the same institution responsible for the overwhelming national debt:

  • “If you're that stupid, then you shouldn't have any money anyway. So go ahead and send it to the same organization that ran up the debt to 36 trillion and steaming towards 40 trillion. It’s just nonsensical.” — Dave Ramsey [04:10]

• The hosts joke about the policy as a sort of social experiment designed to please or provoke certain people.

3. The “Fair Share” Tax Debate

• The hosts discuss how, despite occasional rhetoric about “paying your fair share,” nearly half of Americans pay no federal income tax:

  • “49% of Americans pay zero... 51% of us carry the whole thing.” — Host [02:58]

  • “Please don’t talk to me about fair share ever again. Okay? I’ll help you with this: everybody ought to be paying something.” — Host [03:20]

• They briefly mention the idea of a flat tax being fairer compared to the current system.

4. On Voluntary Contributions: “Have At It”

• Dave adopts a facetiously supportive tone for those who want to voluntarily pay more:

  • “So if you want to pay more because you just think that this is the whole thing, such a great operation, then, yeah, sign up for Venmo, baby. Have at it.” — Host [02:32]

• Critical of virtue-signaling around higher taxes, the hosts suggest the Venmo option is perfect for those who “always say they’d pay more.”

5. Memorable Quotes & Humor

• Regular banter and exaggerated reactions punctuate the conversation:

  • “Dave, I need to take the rest of the show off. My mental health is too fragile right now.” — Ken [01:50]

  • “Is that a fake question? Is that just to see if it was 100% real? But I knew it would be gold with y’all too. I feel like I need a whole bottle of Pepsi AC just chewing on them after that question. Yikes.” — Ken [04:33]

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Notable Timestamps

• 00:06 — Listener question introduction; context on Venmo payments to the government.
• 01:10 — Dave’s cinematic “screw them” rant.
• 01:57 — Sarcasm about “idiots” willing to pay more tax.
• 02:58 — Discussion on how many Americans pay zero federal income tax.
• 03:20 — Advocacy for everyone contributing “a little something.”
• 04:10 — Dave’s critique of sending money voluntarily to cover national debt.

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Tone and Style

• Tone: Irreverent, passionate, humorous, and direct.
• Style: Conversational with frequent pop culture and personal health references; heavy on sarcasm and incredulity.

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Key Takeaways

• The Ramsey team is fiercely critical and mocking of the policy allowing Venmo contributions toward the national debt, framing it as impractical and emblematic of governmental inefficiency.
• The segment uses humor and blunt language to underscore fundamental beliefs about taxation and fiscal responsibility.
• Listeners come away with a clear sense of the hosts’ stance: forced taxation is already too high, and expecting voluntary contributions is both naïve and comical.

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Note: All non-content sections and advertisements have been excluded from this summary.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Today's question comes from Carlos in Texas, and he gives us some context from a Newsweek article that I'll read first. And then his question. The federal government will accept Venmo payments from citizens who want to help pay off the national debt. The treasury has begun accepting Venmo transactions as contributions toward the national debt, which currently stands at 50, 36 trillion dollars. I. I made it through that, James, without laughing. But now Carlos's question, based on this excerpt, what is your opinion on the new option of being able to voluntarily Venmo the US Government to help pay down the national debt? Well, my opinion is. Comes from one of my favorite movies where Anthony Hopkins plays this old man who's had a stroke. And now it hits. I said it's one of my favorite movie movies. What is that Mo movie where Brad Pitt's in it and he's the old. And they're coming for his land. Somebody bail me out, James. What is that movie? Legends of the Fall.

[A]

Legends of the Fall.

[B]

And they come over and his son comes up to old Anthony Hopkins, who suffered a stroke, and he has a chalkboard around his neck. That's how he communicates with his family. And they say, dad, they're offered us land. The government's offering us money for our land. And he says. His mouth is all crooked. And he leans in, he says, screw them. Screw them. That's my answer. That's my answer. Are you kidding me? The government came up with this idea that we're gonna Venmo my money when they already tax me too much. Dave, My blood pressure is unhealthy.

[A]

It's not good for you.

[B]

Take the ball away from me.

[A]

This is bad for you, Ken. I could tell. It's just not. You know your mental health now, Ken.

[B]

Dave, I need to take the rest of the show off. My mental health is too fragile right now. I've not heard this. Have you heard of this?

[A]

Yeah. I think it's wonderful because there's always some idiot out there who says that everyone should pay their fair share and I would be willing to pay more. Someone always says that when they're talking about tax the rich, right?

[B]

Oh, sure.

[A]

And so I always wanted them. We had that argument many years ago here in the state of Tennessee. We ran a governor out of office that tried to bring in a state income tax, and he was confused, and the people here didn't want that.

[B]

So glorious.

[A]

Anyway. Anyway. So. Yeah. But there were all these Libby's that were saying, you know, like, oh, well, I would pay more. Like, well, you can just send them a check, you doofus. And so if you want to pay more because you just think that this is the whole thing, such a great operation, then, yeah, sign up for Venmo, baby. Have at it. But. But the rest of us who have something akin to common sense would be.

[B]

Like, screw ya, right? It's the dumbest idea I've ever heard.

[A]

You gotta be kidding. Here's the thing. 49% of Americans pay zero.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

Federal income tax. Do you know that 51% of us carry the whole thing?

[B]

That's not helping.

[A]

My blood pays zero federal income tax. So please don't talk to me about fair share ever again. Okay, I'll help you with this. So everybody ought to be paying something. Yeah, I don't care if you make $5 and you pay a nickel. I don't care. You ought to be paying a little something. Everybody pays a little something. And you know, and so we can start arguing about flat tax now. And that would be fair. If I pay 10% of my income and you pay 10% of your income and I make a lot more, so I pay a lot more. That's fair. The way it is now is not fair. So. But it's not equitable. But anyway, so yeah, if you want to pay some more into the government, I think if you're the type of person that believes this is a good idea, I think you should do it.

[B]

You know what? That's actually true. If you're that stupid, then you shouldn't have any money anyway. So go ahead and send it to the same organization that ran up the debt to 36 trillion and steaming towards 40 trillion. It's the most. It's just nonsensical. So, sure, yeah, you should. Yeah, you should do that.

[A]

You know, they just did that to just. Just for you and me.

[B]

Is that a fake question? Is that just to see if 100 real? But I knew it would be gold with y' all too. I feel like I need a whole bottle of Pepsi AC just chewing on them after that question. Yikes.

[A]

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