$1,000 to Millions? How Trump Accounts Turn Kids Into Capitalists | E.J. Antoni, Ph.D.

The Daily Signal YT Channel ^ | Feb 9 2026 | Dr E J Antoni

[texas booster]

A product of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” Trump Accounts give American children — sorry, illegal aliens, this one is for us — a “tremendous” financial head start on life, providing the means to pay for college or put a down payment on a home, along with exposure to equities, something roughly 1 in 3 Americans currently do not have.

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: trumpaccounts

[texas booster]

If you make the maximum annual contribution of $5,000 to a Trump Account, it could be worth:

At age 18: $300,000
At age 28: $800,000
At age 55: $10 million

All courtesy of the power of compounding returns, argues Heritage Foundation Chief Economist E.J. Antoni in this special video commentary.

[texas booster]

I have been looking for a good commentary on the rationale behind Trump accounts, and this is an excellent commentary on them.

It will become everything that socialists do not want - a free and financially independent nation of young capitalists!

[Vermont Lt]

Most ignorant parents will cash this out at the first possible moment.

Money for nuthin’ is usually a bad idea because of how fast it burns up.

[rktman]

Well, guess the old chant of “kill the rich” starts with abortions now huh?

[ckilmer]

Most ignorant parents will cash this out at the first possible moment.
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yeah, that’s what I thought.

at 18, the instant the money is available it will be spent immediately on sh-t.

It would be better to wait for it be available at age 32. at that point there is over a million dollars and the beneficiary would have a better chance of having the maturity to hold onto the money rather than blowing it all. What percent of 18 year olds would use their money wisely? 5%? 10%?

[Ann Archy]

BINGO! Or they will Kill them for that money.

[Tell It Right]

at 18, the instant the money is available it will be spent immediately on sh-t.

No doubt for some teens. But some teens will watch it grow month after month, year after year, and learn the power of compounded returns in a way they wouldn't normally have. My kids did with the Roth IRAs we started for them.

We seeded each of our kids' Roth IRAs with $1K if they first met our conditions: get a job, and implement some savings strategy (i.e. one did X $'s per paycheck to savings, another kid did X% to car repair savings). Thus, I started a Roth IRA with $1K and when each kid watched it grow he/she became excited and contributed to it regularly. They're all grown and they still invest. I know that especially for two of them because they ask me to invest it month by month (refusing to learn how to do it on their own LOL). It's really simple. I picked a portfolio with 3 dozen equity mutual funds in different asset classes. All they have to do when they invest is log in, sort their mutual funds by balance, and invest in whichever one has the smallest balance (buy low).

[Leaning Right]

> What percent of 18 year olds would use their money wisely? <

Well, certainly not me at that age.

Well, if I had money, I’d tell you what I’d do
I go downtown, buy a Mercury or two
Crazy ‘bout a Mercury

[PeterPrinciple]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_gratification

Delayed gratification, or deferred gratification, is the ability to resist the temptation of an immediate reward in favor of a more valuable and long-lasting reward later. It involves forgoing a smaller, immediate pleasure to achieve a larger or more enduring benefit in the future.[1] A growing body of literature has linked the ability to delay gratification to a host of other positive outcomes, including academic success, physical health, psychological health, and social competence.

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But it is an opportunity to teach on delayed gratification which makes for good citizens.

If we don’t teach it, they can’t learn.

[themidnightskulker]

Everything a government gives to you, that government can take away from you.

The money is put into accounts then invested; propping up the markets with an extra step and a barrier for criticism.

Because:”Its for the children.”

[spokeshave]

And the free money funds the destruction of the nation

Millions of sporn owe allegence to communist china

Millions more owe allegence to mexico

Millions more with leftie mothers who hate America

Hundreds of thousands who owe alligance to islam

[DIRTYSECRET]

I dunno. Kids will have 18 years to watch it grow. Hopefully it will change their way of thinking. Perhaps the penalties for a 18 year old withdrawal will put a check on it.

My worry is that it will make younger working age Americans lazy at a time when they should go pedal to the metal working while their productive abilities are at their peak. What will make their portfolios grow will be a lot of workers out there busting their butts contributing to economic and other’s IRA growth. We’ll see.

Will it make voters more conservative now that young adults will have something to conserve?

Those that commit crime will have a fund to give restitution. That would empty these funds unless the restitution is done at today’s age 59. Decide on a percentage to be forfeited at an age when they’re too old to hurt others.

[spokeshave]

They will turn on each other to achieve dominance...its their nature

Pinging Trumps snake poem.

[dfwgator]

[caddie]

This is probably the smartest move Trump ever made.

It is a stealth privatization of SS.

Which could never be done by tackling the fraudulent existing SS program head-on.

All they need to do is make contributions easy, and withdrawals hard.

Once the average schmo has built a nest egg, then it will catch on. People will find ways to NOT withdraw it. They will get online college degrees and other ways not to get ripped off by the educationscam establishment.

I remember that Einstein actually marveled about compound interest. That says a lot, when you consider all the things he had to marvel about.

[Rockingham]

The genius of Trump accounts is that it forces people to make choices and to draw lessons from experience, both good and bad. By rewarding thrift, saving, and investment, the Trump accounts will help to revive those practices among the poor and working class. Until the Depression destroyed confidence in the economy and banking system, Americans understood those virtues as essential to success and financial security.

[PghBaldy]

Just what we need. More wealthy people who hate White Americans.

[MayflowerMadam]

Two chicks at a time!

[cyclotic]

Here’s a real world example of the power of compound interest. When my wife quit her job to have a baby, her employer sent her a check for $1100. It was the payout of a retirement fund she didn’t even know about. While we could have really used the money then, the ta cost made it wise to reinvest it. My dad recommended a high risk mutual fund. We invested and haven’t added or removed any since then.

Last year my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. (Thank God it was early and she’s doing well)

There’s a lot of out of pocket cost especially since we’re doing a lot of naturopathic treatments. I reminded her of the mutual fund account, which had grown to almost $40,000 in 35 years. We’ve been able to easily cover all of the medical expenses and what’s left in the account continues to grow.

[FirstFlaBn]

I’m all for the program, but the same hopeful promises were made about 401(k)s in the late 70s - a revolution was heaed our way. Those who add nothing to Trump’s free $1k will have about $4k in 18 years (at an imputed 8%). The Dems and Pocahontas will stoke class resentment and demand that the po’ exploited masses vote to seize the growth of the responsible.

Maybe one light will flicker on and that young person will learn a valuable lesson about how the world works. We need every one we can get.