43:I[185,["/_next/static/chunks/3xnt26d00_zk-.js","/_next/static/chunks/2aeejfufo02km.js","/_next/static/chunks/42spz6paskvb6.js","/_next/static/chunks/06x30xgfe6iur.js","/_next/static/chunks/2qm8z4gyuajgj.js","/_next/static/chunks/3jnlvw-emqotx.js"],"SendEmailButton"] 45:I[63625,["/_next/static/chunks/3xnt26d00_zk-.js","/_next/static/chunks/2aeejfufo02km.js","/_next/static/chunks/42spz6paskvb6.js","/_next/static/chunks/06x30xgfe6iur.js","/_next/static/chunks/2qm8z4gyuajgj.js","/_next/static/chunks/3jnlvw-emqotx.js"],"AddToLibraryButton"] 48:I[45269,["/_next/static/chunks/3xnt26d00_zk-.js","/_next/static/chunks/2aeejfufo02km.js","/_next/static/chunks/42spz6paskvb6.js","/_next/static/chunks/06x30xgfe6iur.js","/_next/static/chunks/2qm8z4gyuajgj.js","/_next/static/chunks/3jnlvw-emqotx.js"],"SignupCTA"] 3b:["$","h1",null,{"className":"max-w-[22ch] font-display text-[clamp(32px,4.5vw,48px)] font-medium leading-[1.05] tracking-[-0.02em] text-[color:var(--fg-1)] text-balance","children":"Should You Take Trump’s Free $1,000?"}] 3c:["$","div",null,{"className":"flex flex-wrap items-center gap-x-4 gap-y-1 font-mono text-[12px] uppercase tracking-[0.1em] text-[color:var(--fg-3)]","children":[["$","time",null,{"dateTime":"2026-07-10T07:00:00.000Z","children":"July 10, 2026"}],["$","span",null,{"aria-hidden":true,"children":"·"}],["$","span",null,{"children":"00:20:57"}],false]}] 3d:["$","p",null,{"className":"max-w-[60ch] text-[18px] leading-[1.5] text-[color:var(--fg-2)]","children":"How a seemingly universal program still benefits the wealthy the most."}] 44:T53d,

If you’ve seen ads for Trump Accounts for kids, but also know anything about Donald Trump, you might be wondering “Free $1,000 per baby? Okay, what’s the catch?” It’s a classic.

Guest: Justin Wolfers, Professor of Economics and Public Policy, University of Michigan, and founder of Platypus Economics.

Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

Podcast production by Rob Gunther, Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort.

Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.