Trump Accounts touted as antidote to ‘anti-capitalist’ ideology, financial illiteracy gripping US: regulator
FIRST ON FOX: "Trump Accounts" will work as a nationwide financial literacy starter kit that simultaneously serves as an antidote to rising anti-capitalist sentiment, according to the head of the Treasury bureau that regulates and supervises national banks.
"Trump Accounts will be one of the most impactful financial literacy tools in our country’s history," Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said Friday before the Financial Literacy and Education Commission. "They present a unique chance for all Americans to own a stake in the most powerful economy on Earth, watch their money grow, and begin their investing journey."
Trump Accounts were created under the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act signed July 4, 2025, and are structured as tax-deferred investment accounts for children. Eligible children born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, who are U.S. citizens with valid Social Security numbers, receive a $1,000 federal seed contribution, while families and employers can also contribute under set limits.
In addition to the accounts helping bolster children's ability to secure the "American Dream," as the administration has celebrated, Gould said the accounts would bolster financial literacy and push back on what he described as an anti-capitalist ideology.
TREASURY SECRETARY PREDICTS BLOCKBUSTER 2026 FOR US ECONOMY AS DOW HITS HISTORIC MILESTONE
Fox News Digital obtained Gould's full remarks at the Financial Literacy and Education Commission meeting that focused on the implementation, consumer education and outreach efforts for Trump Accounts. The commission is a body within the Treasury Department established in 2003 to improve the financial literacy of citizens.
Gould took aim at "collectivist policies," such as socialism, arguing financial literacy requires "a foundational understanding of free-market principles" and casting Trump Accounts as a response to what he called growing anti-capitalist ideology.
"Trump Accounts offer an opportunity for America’s children to experience the best of our free markets and to own a piece of the American Dream. And they are a direct rebuttal to the philosophical and economic dead-ends of collectivist policies," Gould said.
Gould leads the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which is an independent bureau under the Treasury Department's umbrella that regulates all national banks, federal savings associations, as well as branches of foreign banks licensed to operate in the U.S.
I'M YOUNG AND SHUT OUT OF THE AMERICAN DREAM BUT I WON'T BE GOVERNMENT OR THE LEFT'S VICTIM
Recent surveys have found that U.S. adults suffer from financial illiteracy, including the World Economic Forum publishing data in 2024 that found roughly 50% of U.S. adults could not pass a 28-question test on personal finances, called the P-Fin Index. A separate study published in 2024 by WalletHub found Gen Z — the youngest generation in the U.S. workforce — is the least financially confident generation, including 85% reporting they see one or more barriers to financial success.
Gould continued in his remarks Friday, saying that his goal is to "ensure that Americans are equipped with the knowledge to navigate the financial system, strengthen the competitive landscape that supports their communities, and have a regulatory structure that promotes prosperity."
He added in his remarks before the commission that banks should use their credibility and standing to inoculate Americans against the rise in "anti-capitalist ideologies" compounding U.S. financial illiteracy after decades of "inattention to the harmful and inaccurate curriculum that too many of our schools and colleges have been teaching."
"I strongly encourage banks to use their credibility and standing in the community to combat the rise of anti-capitalist ideologies," Gould said. "These ideologies are borne of financial illiteracy and reflect decades of inattention to the harmful and inaccurate curriculum that too many of our schools and colleges have been teaching. As one of the central instruments of capitalism, banks have a major stake in this, and they have an important role to play in inoculating Americans from these harmful ideologies."
"Financial literacy and regulatory reform are connected," Gould said. "When consumers understand banking and regulation, they are less vulnerable to improper practices and more capable of understanding how innovation, whether in digital payments, modern distribution methods, or new financial services, can best serve them."
Some Democratic lawmakers and policy groups have spoken out against Trump Accounts, claiming they fall short of addressing financial hurdles Americans face or could widen the wealth gap as poor families unable to add contributions following the seed money will benefit the least, The Associated Press reported.
President Donald Trump has celebrated the accounts as providing citizens a better shot at the "American dream" while adding that they are like "real trust funds for every American child."
"The federal government will also automatically be making a one-time seed contribution of $1,000 into the tax-deferred Trump Accounts for every newborn U.S. citizen, fulfilling a promise I made in the 2024 campaign," Trump said in December while announcing the accounts. "Trump Accounts should grow to be worth many thousands of dollars by the time the child is 18 and even more by the time they are 20 or even 30 years old."