Comptroller Gould says Trump Accounts combat anti-capitalist ideology

FIRST ON FOX: “Trump Accounts” will operate as a nationwide financial literacy starter kit and also serve as an antidote to rising anti-capitalist sentiment, according to the head of the Treasury bureau, which regulates and supervises national banks.

“Trump Accounts will be one of the most effective financial literacy tools in our nation’s history,” Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said in a statement before the Financial Literacy and Education Committee on Friday. “They offer all Americans a unique chance to own a stake in the world’s most powerful economy, watch their money grow, and begin their investment journey.”

Trump Accounts were created as part of the “big, beautiful bill” signed on July 4, 2025, and are structured as tax-deferred investment accounts for children. While a federal seed contribution of $1,000 is given to eligible children who are US citizens born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028 and have a valid Social Security number, families and employers can also contribute under specified limits.

In addition to the accounts helping strengthen children’s ability to secure the “American Dream,” as the administration has celebrated, Gould said the accounts would strengthen financial literacy and push back against what he described as anti-capitalist ideology.

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Fox News Digital obtained Gould’s full remarks at the Financial Literacy and Education Committee meeting, which focused on enforcement, consumer education and outreach efforts to address Trump Accounts. The Commission is a body within the Department of the Treasury established in 2003 to improve citizens’ financial literacy.

Gould took aim at “collectivist policies” such as socialism, arguing that financial literacy required “a basic understanding of free market principles” and creating the Trump Accounts as a response to what he called a growing anti-capitalist ideology.

Gould said Trump Accounts “offer all Americans a unique chance to own a stake in the world’s most powerful economy, watch their money grow, and begin their investment journey.” “The Trump Accounts offer America’s children the opportunity to experience the best of our free markets and own a piece of the American Dream. And they are a direct rebuttal to the philosophical and economic dead ends of collectivist policies.”

“Trump Accounts will be one of the most effective financial literacy tools in our nation’s history,” Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said in a statement before the Financial Literacy and Education Committee. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Gould leads the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, an independent bureau under the Treasury Department that regulates all national banks and federal savings associations, as well as branches of foreign banks licensed to operate in the United States.

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Recent studies have found that U.S. adults suffer from financial illiteracy; This includes data from the World Economic Forum that finds that by 2024, nearly 50% of U.S. adults will fail a 28-question test on personal finance. P-Fin Index. A separate study published by WalletHub in 2024 found that Generation Z, the youngest generation in the U.S. workforce, is the least financially confident generation; of these, 85% reported seeing one or more barriers to financial success.

Gould continued his statement on Friday by saying his goal is to “ensure Americans are equipped with the knowledge to navigate the financial system, strengthen the competitive environment that supports their communities, and have a regulatory structure that promotes prosperity.”

In his speech before the commission, he added that banks should use their credibility and standing to inoculate Americans against the rise of “anti-capitalist ideologies” that have increased U.S. financial literacy after “decades of inattention to the harmful and inaccurate curricula taught by many of our schools and colleges.”

“I strongly encourage banks to use their credibility and standing in society to combat the rise of anti-capitalist ideologies,” Gould said. “These ideologies stem from financial illiteracy and reflect decades of indifference to the harmful and inaccurate curriculum that most of our schools and colleges teach. As one of the central tools of capitalism, banks have a big hand in this and will play a major role in indoctrinating Americans from these harmful ideologies.”

An American flag is displayed at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, February 24, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

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“Financial literacy and regulatory reform are interconnected,” Gould said. “When consumers understand banking and regulations, they are less vulnerable to inappropriate practices and more capable of understanding how innovation in digital payments, modern delivery methods, or new financial services can best serve them.”

Some Democratic lawmakers and policy groups have spoken out against Trump Accounts, arguing that they fall short of addressing the financial hurdles Americans face or could widen the wealth gap because poor families who cannot add contributions after the seed money would benefit the least, the Associated Press reported.

President Donald Trump praised the accounts, saying they provide citizens with a better chance at the “American dream,” adding that they are “true trust funds for every American child.”

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“The federal government will also make a one-time seed contribution of $1,000 into tax-deferred Trump accounts for every newborn U.S. citizen, fulfilling a promise I made in the 2024 campaign,” Trump said in announcing the accounts in December. “By the time the child is 18, Trump accounts will be worth thousands of dollars, and by the time the child is 20 or even 30, they will be worth even more.”