Speaker 1: Welcome to another episode of the Chicks on the Right podcast.
It's just you and me Zach here today to talk
about Trump accounts, and of course Zach is our friend
and sponsor of the show from Bulwark Capital Management. And
this is great timing because Trump accounts were announced. People
are excited, and I think they should be. I mean, like,
this is a really this is kind of how a
lot of people imagine that social Security should actually look like.
Is just you have a baby, you start them an account,
and if they even if they do nothing to it,
even if they only just leave that thousand dollars worth
of government seed money in there and don't even contribute
on top of that, they can have a nice chunk
of change by the time they're eighteen, and certainly by
the time they retire.
Speaker 3: Yeah. No, it.
Speaker 2: When you look at it through that lens, I think
it makes all the sense in the world. The other thing,
the other thing that I like is that if we're
going remember, the longer we've got to touch, the longer
you've got to plan anything as it relates to money, Yeah,
much larger advantage you have, right, because you're able to
take advantage of compounding interest over time. So what you're
when you look at social security and you look at
the demographics in this country, and it always drives me
nuts when people go at this point in the future
or in twenty thirty, social security is going to be bad.
Social Security is bankrupt already. If it was if it
was a business, we'd be like, put a fork in.
This thing's done, okay, you know, because you're still operating
in a massive deficit. The other thing too, guys, just
for everybody to know when it does quote unquote run
out of money, it's not out of money. Why they
phrase it that way, I will never understand. Back in
the sixties, when they rated the Social Security lock box,
social security became a general obligation of the federal government.
And that is a that is a that is a
technical just like a US government bond is a general obligation.
So what that means is it doesn't matter how much
the program is funded. The government will fund it regardless, right,
So if they have to print money to backfill it
and pay it, they will, Okay, So obviously that's not tenable, right.
So bottom line is you're gonna have a big swath
of people, mostly the younger you are the higher the
percentage chance that you're never going to see social security.
So prior to taking those security away, we should we
should have something in lieu of it. And like we
were saying, the earlier the better because you start taking
advantage of compound and interest. And here's the thing for
people that this scarcy. I remember we did a study
back in O eight to nine when everybody was freaking
out about the government bailouts of the banks. Right back then,
that was back when everybody freaked out over TARP. If
you remember TARP, Troubled Asset Relief Program, it was eight
hundred and eighty billion, right, and we thought the world
was coming to an end. What we've realized now is that,
you know, that's just a good day's work, right. We
throw around quarter billion for this, five hundred billion for that,
a trillion for this. So but but what we were
looking at back then is remember there was talk about,
especially in the eighties and nineties, about quote unquote privatizing
social security.
Speaker 3: Okay, so we said, okay, what would that have looked
like where every.
Speaker 2: Single one of our Social security payments would have gone
into an account that just held the SMP five hundred Okay,
the numbers that we came up with. If I'm remembering,
it's been like fifteen years since we did this. But
if I remember correctly, had you done that, the average
Social Security benefit would have been something like ten to
twelve x what it is currently.
Speaker 3: God, okay, here was even there? Are we doing this well?
Speaker 2: Because then people on the left at that time, the
left especially, said you're gonna gamble their retirement savings in
markets and oh, it's so horrible, And you're like, they're
twenty five years old. Can you show me another forty
year period of time in which the US stock market
was up, not up substantially, and it will be up
substantially forty years from now, if for no other reason
than inflation. Okay, Like people always forget what if our
country comes to when when the final days of the
US are finally upon us, the US stock market will
be at a record high.
Speaker 3: You'd be like, what do you mean?
Speaker 2: And I go, no, just via inflation, meaning you know,
the best performing stock market in the last twenty years
has been Zimbabwe. Right, Their inflation is averaged eight hundred percent,
Their stock market's average twelve hundred percent a year, right or.
Speaker 3: No, excuse me?
Speaker 2: Their stock market average eight hundred percent a year, inflation
average twelve hundred percent a year, So meaning the best
way to protect them in the long run is to
get them.
Speaker 3: Invested in stuff like this.
Speaker 2: So I think that this eventually, and I would assume
this is the thinking behind it, is that this is
kind of going.
Speaker 3: To be the first salvo in eliminating what.
Speaker 2: Was seen at you know, what the role social Security
did and replace it with something better.
Speaker 3: And I hope so.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think this is such a great solution.
I know it's you know, for kids in sort of
like this three year window, but I'm hoping that this
will be a great test scenario and that this is
something that will continue. But the downside is that, you know,
we don't know much about how the mechanics are going
to work exactly. But assuming that this works, like a
like a five to two nine for example, where you know,
you can just you grandparents can contribute, Employers can contribute
up to five thousand dollars. But even again, even if
you don't contribute anything, and this just grows and it compounds,
you've got potentially a whole bunch of eighteen year olds
that may or may not be responsible enough to know
how to deal with this big chunk of change that
all of a sudden they have access to. How would
you advise parents to prepare their kids to understand what
they have coming this three year window of kids that
are fortunate enough to be getting Trump accounts, how would
you prepare their parents to prepare the kids?
Speaker 2: Oh, so you look, I am, especially when I see
parents that are doing a good, good job raising kids
in any capacity.
Speaker 3: My ears are wide open, right learning tips. So I
like meaning I don't.
Speaker 2: I am not a finished I'm not a finished product,
and I am not the best parent in the world. Okay,
so when I say this, I'm not like using myself
as the ultimate example here, But I'll tell you what
we do with our kids with their investment accounts that
we've already established within for them is not all the time,
but I try to do it once a quarter where
we'll be sitting around the island in the kitchen and
we'll take fifteen or twenty minutes.
Speaker 3: They'll bust out their green light.
Speaker 2: Accounts that we've got for them, and we'll go through
and kind of buy and sell this and kind of
do this and involve.
Speaker 3: Them in it.
Speaker 2: And teach them how like I think one of the
I'm glad you asked this question because I think one
of the educational parts of what these accounts. If parents
utilize this to teach their kids about money, which I
hope they do, one of the beautiful things they're going
to be able to teach their kids is the power
of compounded interest over time. Yes, and that is really
a big part I think of learning delayed gratification, which
I think everybody is in need of learning about delayed gratification.
I don't think that there's ever been a generation because
of the Internet, because of smartphones, everything at the tip
of their hands. I don't think that that we've ever
had a generation that could benefit more from learning about
that and also learning about how the economy works. And
the simple reason for that is, like everything else, you know,
one of the best ways to learn any game, you know,
if I want to learn a game, for instance, at
a casino, you throw down twenty bucks and.
Speaker 3: You play right.
Speaker 2: And so I obviously this is more serious than that,
but this allows them to actually have real money in
the market in some sort of investment and start realizing
that the things that happen around the world can greatly
impact that account, right that what government does can impact
that account, and to contribute more and watch it growing.
So make it a family thing. And it doesn't have
to be once a week. It shouldn't be but once
a quarter, maybe even once every six months. But take
that time to go review the accounts and what you'll
see is you'll see with my kids it every once
in a while on the way home, one of them
will ask a question about a fund or a stock
that we put in their account. You know, your dad, Hey,
what is that is that stock up recently? You know
that we bought. And it's just really funny because even
if they're not interested, once they start seeing valuations change,
they get more interested.
Speaker 1: And it's especially when it's attached to their name and
it belongs to them, and so you know, that's that's
one thing I hope that a lot of parents, because
you know, there's going to be some kids that turn
eighteen and they're like, whoo cash and they just blow it.
But hopefully there will be a whole bunch of them
that understand and have been taught, whether it's school parents
or otherwise, that if they just leave it alone and
even add to it over the years, they will come
out millionaires, maybe a couple times over at retirement. And
that is such a gift.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's such a gift. And we'll have to see
the way it comes out. But what I'm assuming and
what I have heard, is that the accounts are going
to work very similar to a roth account. So you'll
be able to use it to finance education, you'll be
able to use it for first time home purchases. And
you don't, look, anybody that's heard me talk realizes that.
Speaker 3: You know, am I conservative? Of course?
Speaker 2: Am I one of these people that just rubber stamps
everything Trump does?
Speaker 1: No?
Speaker 2: Okay, but this doing this, in my opinion, is the
most meaningful thing I have seen a government do to
both educate citizens and combat inflation over time. This is
like one of those only things I've seen them do
where I'm like, this isn't just a band aid, right,
This will actually help kids deal with these expenses over time.
This will help teach them about money, right, Like I'm
I like, I am not a fan of passing out
two thousand dollars cara of dividends to everybody. Okay, that
that to me, and this is completely different. Why because
the minute those checks go out for the tariffs, the
the advantage it gives you, it is done the day
they get it, Meaning it's we're just throwing money into
the into the furnace, right. This is not that, And
this to me is actually us as a country making
an investment in our children. And that's something I can
get behind. And and people are like, but we can't
afford it. Because we can't afford it means that we
have to do this because the reason we can't afford
it is because we mismanaged it. So we need to
start giving the younger generations that had nothing to do
with why we're in this mess. We need to start
building life rafts for them. Yeah, and I think that
this is the beginning of that process. So I'm fully supportive.
Speaker 1: I completely agree with you. And I know there's been
critiques of Michael Dell at Michael and Susan Dell for
contributing six points, and I'm like, what how I can't
that blows me away, Like people are like, oh, they're
taking some tax deduction, so what so to you.
Speaker 3: Why should they not get an income tax deduction?
Speaker 2: And you can see the other thing to all you
morons out there that say this, and I do say, morons,
he's worth six and a half billion.
Speaker 3: He doesn't make six and a half billion a year.
Speaker 2: Okay, the fast majority of that wealth is wrapped up
in stock, so off, who cares if we're gonna offset
of guys. And here's why I say that. But when
you have private giving, we should always give deduction incentives
because private giving, especially when it's going to private way,
more money via private charities actually gets to the end
user than any government department. And anybody saying that this
is this to me is the crime of politics and
the tragedy of politics because it creates people opposing anything
that somebody on the other side does, including a guy
giving six and a half billion dollars to kids. I mean,
you know, And this goes to this also goes to
that whole Trump derangement syndrome. Like you and I have
joked around before. Yeah, the only way these people wouldn't
take the vaccine is if Trump put his name on it, right,
Like you know what I mean? And it's it's just
nuts all of a sudden, Now we're mad at people
because they get a tax deduction, Like do you know
what a tax deduction.
Speaker 3: Means that means that in the year he takes.
Speaker 2: That deduction, he doesn't have to pay taxes on six
and a half billion dollars of income which he didn't make.
Speaker 3: Right, which he didn't know.
Speaker 1: I know. It's just it's incredible. It's I guess it's
now Dell derangement syndrome. It's so so stupid. I know,
I know, I know, and I'm sorry to have exasperated you,
but like, I get it. I mean, and I hope
that the clients that you already have, and like maybe
new potential clients who maybe are expecting right now, think
about talking to you about how to manage these Trump accounts.
It's a good way to get advice from you and
maybe get a second opinion if they already have a
financial advisor. So if they want that second opinion, how
do they reach out?
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, after we make you the official spokesperson
and a a a an honor refinancial advisor with our
firm because they're so you're so good.
Speaker 3: At the pitch nobody. Yeah, we're easy to find.
Speaker 2: You can just you can find our content on YouTube
and Know your Risk podcast. You can go to Bullwarkcapitalmanagement
dot com. You can google Bullwarkcapital, you can google Know
your Risk podcast not hard to find, and yeah, give
us a ring and I think you put it perfect.
At the very least, we can show you what we do,
how we do it, what it costs. You can compare
it to what you have. If you want to go
further down that road, we'd be happy to. If not,
hopefully you leave more informed. But we're not going to
twist your arm. And we're not going to call you
on Saturday six months from now because you call this
one time in December.
Speaker 1: So thank you, Zach, appreciate it as always.
Speaker 3: Thanks as always. Investment advisory services offered through TREK Financial
loc and SEC Registered Investment advisor.
Speaker 2: The opinions expressed in this program er for general informational
purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice
or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security.
Any references to performance of security so it thought to
be materially accurate and actual performance may different.
Speaker 3: Investments involved risk and are not guaranteed.
Speaker 2: Past performance doesn't guarantee future results. Trek twenty four to
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