Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Trump Accounts for children born from 2025-28 could open the door to Americans paying their payroll taxes into personal accounts invested in the stock market instead of to the federal government, which has borrowed from the Social Security trust fund for years.
Cruz suggested at a panel discussion at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference in Los Angeles earlier this week that Trump Accounts could pave the way to transforming Social Security, which faces a $230 billion cash shortfall in 2026.
“Here’s the dirty little secret: Trump Accounts are Social Security personal accounts,” Cruz said, arguing that the establishment of Trump Accounts represents an important conservative victory in taking a step toward privatization of Social Security, something that former President George W. Bush attempted but failed to do during his second term.
“How did we get it done? You remember George W. Bush tried this in his second term and, sadly, Congress ran for the hills in a display of extraordinary cowardice. How did we get it done this time? It’s because we gave the money to babies so the old people didn’t get p‑‑‑ed,” Cruz said.
“But babies grow up,” he pointed out.
“That little girl who is born this year, she’s going to be 70, and the math is if you contribute regularly to it, by the time she’s 18, she’ll have $170,000 in that account. By the time she’s 35, she’ll have $700,000 in that account,” Cruz added.
“This will become Social Security personal accounts,” he predicted.
And he argued that once older people see how much the Trump Accounts are accruing for young Americans, they’ll want to see their payroll taxes going into their personal accounts.
“We’re going to be able to go to parents and say, ‘Hey, you know that Trump Account your kid has that you keep seeing the numbers go up and you’re seeing this compound growth, wouldn’t you like to be able to keep a portion of your tax payments that you’re paying already, and instead of sending it to Uncle Sam, wouldn’t you like to have a Trump Account just like your kid does?’” Cruz said, predicting the idea of government-funded personal investment and retirement accounts will catch on like wildfire.
“My prediction is within five years, that is going to have a really compelling constituency because people will have seen it,” he said.
Cruz wrote the legislation establishing Trump Accounts that was enacted into law when President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year, and he said they are a good example of “opportunity conservativism” because they give people more control over their financial futures.
