Monday Miscellany, 7/14/25

But instead of being available at retirement, the money will be available when the child turns 18.  It must be used for a “qualified purpose” such as paying for college, buying a home, or starting a business.  The money would be fully available for any reason at age 30, though taxes would kick in if it’s used for any other purpose.  Otherwise, it turns into a regular IRA.

Parents could contribute up to $5,000 per year to these so-called “Trump Accounts” (a.k.a., MAGA Accounts, as per the provision’s title:  “Money Accounts for Growth and Advancement”).  Employers could contribute half of that amount.

If all that’s put in is the initial $1,000 from the government, at the historically-reasonable 7% growth, that would grow in 18 years to $3,676.  That’s real money, but not a lot towards starting a business or buying a home.  But if $5,000 were socked away every year, that would come to $182,063.  That could help a young adult get started in life!

You can also start a Trump Account for your other children, but they won’t get the $1,000 start-up, which goes only to babies born in 2025 and babies yet to be born through 2028.

The only requirement is that the child and at least one parent are U.S. citizens and have a Social Security number.  There are no income limits.  All you have to do is call your bank or other financial institution and set up one of these accounts in your baby’s name.  Then, after verifying your information, Treasury will put in the $1,000.

Kiplinger gives a good summary of how the program works, including the tax details.  Yahoo Business is also informative, while also saying that other investment strategies for your children may be even better.  The Wall Street Journal opposes the program on principle, fearing that it will become another entitlement and a step towards the welfare state’s dream of a guaranteed national income.

Fair point–I too bristle at the government handout–but I see this as an incredibly creative innovation that is pro-childbirth and that addresses the problems young adults have in getting started in their lives.  After all, entering the workforce is as much of a milestone as retiring from it.  Being able to put a downpayment on a house will encourage marriage–especially as couples merge their baby accounts–and the starting of new families.

And as young people from all walks of life get the habit of checking the stock market to see how much money they are making (or sometimes losing) from their Trump accounts, they will learn a lot about economics and the economy.  They might even give up their stated affinity for socialism and turn into young capitalists.

Teen Pregnancy Is Dying Out

Birth rates are down across the board, but the good news is a dramatic drop-off in the number of teen pregnancies.

Newsweek has published a story by Jordan King entitled The Teen Mom is Dying Out.  In 1975 in the U.S., there were 599,926 births to mothers between 15 and 19.  In 2024, there were 136,376.  That’s only 22.7% as much as in the heyday of the sexual revolution.  That’s a 77.3% decrease!

And among young women who are still getting pregnant, the “vast majority,” according to the article, are 18 or 19.