AUSTIN \u2014 Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he wants to give every newborn in Texas $1,000. Patrick posted his idea on X on Wednesday morning, saying he will push for legislation in 2027 that mimics the Invest America initiative \u2014 also known as \u201cTrump Accounts\u201d \u2014 created this year as part of President Donald Trump\u2019s Big Beautiful Bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I see a great idea from the President that helps Texans, my first question is always, \u2018Why not do it in Texas, too?\u2019\u201d the lieutenant governor said.<\/p>\n
Trump Accounts made news Tuesday after Michael and Susan Dell announced they would give $6.25 billion to the Invest America initiative, amounting to about $250 for every child 10 and under who is ineligible for the Trump accounts. Michael Dell is the founder of Dell Technologies Inc. and is estimated to be the 11th-richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg.<\/p>\n
Political Points<\/p>\n
Patrick estimated that creating a similar fund for children born in Texas would cost about $400 million a year. He proposed calling it the \u201cNew Little Texan Savings Fund.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is about 1% or less of our total state appropriations,\u201d Patrick said. \u201cWe will amend the state constitution to add this as a permanent program. This is a great way to return money back to families and to teach the value of savings and compound interest to young Texans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amending the Texas Constitution requires approval from two-thirds of each chamber of the Texas Legislature and a majority of voters.<\/p>\n
Patrick\u2019s proposal drew backlash from some conservatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is absolutely horrific and an absolutely terrible, terrible idea – not only at the federal level, but state level as well. This should not pass,\u201d former state Sen. Konni Burton, who represented Colleyville from 2015 to 2019 as a Republican, posted on social media.<\/p>\n
However, it drew an endorsement from U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who was instrumental in creating the federal Trump Accounts. Cruz called Patrick\u2019s idea, \u201cFantastic!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m thrilled to see the Lone Star State and my good friend @DanPatrick taking this even further for Texas kids. Bravo!\u201d Cruz posted on X.<\/p>\n
Like the federal program, Patrick proposed investing the $1,000 into the S&P 500.<\/p>\n
Had an 18-year-old born Dec. 3, 2007, been given a $1,000 investment in the popular State Street index fund, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), on the date of their birth and reinvested dividends, that investment would have grown to $6,344, according to the website Stoculator. Taking inflation into account, the investment still would have more than quadrupled if withdrawn on their 18th birthday.<\/p>\n
The federal program would seed each newborn\u2019s account with $1,000. Parents can contribute up to $5,000 per year, and employers can give $2,500 annually. At age 18, the account holder would be able to withdraw funds to pay for higher education tuition, a down payment on a home or startup costs. The accounts would grow tax-free, but the recipient would have to pay taxes on any gains withdrawn.<\/p>\n
The proposal by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to give every newborn in Texas $1,000 has sparked both support and criticism. While some see it as a great way to teach the value of savings and compound interest to young Texans, others believe it is a terrible idea that should not pass. As the proposal moves forward, it will be interesting to see how it is received by the Texas Legislature and voters.<\/p>\n
A: The proposed \u201cNew Little Texan Savings Fund\u201d is a program that would give every newborn in Texas $1,000, which would be invested in the S&P 500.<\/p>\n
A: The program is estimated to cost about $400 million a year, which is about 1% or less of the total state appropriations.<\/p>\n
A: Amending the Texas Constitution requires approval from two-thirds of each chamber of the Texas Legislature and a majority of voters.<\/p>\n
A: The federal program would seed each newborn\u2019s account with $1,000. Parents can contribute up to $5,000 per year, and employers can give $2,500 annually. At age 18, the account holder would be able to withdraw funds to pay for higher education tuition, a down payment on a home or startup costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Proposal for Newborns in Texas to Receive $1,000 AUSTIN \u2014 Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he wants to give every newborn in Texas $1,000. Patrick posted his idea on X on Wednesday morning, saying he will push for legislation in 2027 that mimics the Invest America initiative \u2014 also known as \u201cTrump Accounts\u201d \u2014 created […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":18059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18057","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/EAK55AK37MFPMAWAWSCR3FLT64.jpg?auth=315f19c22c313c19c410c1087522c3ef00fb0d5da4252829f058f057331c432f&quality=80&width=1200&height=630&smart=true","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18057"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18057"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18057\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18060,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18057\/revisions\/18060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}