In between parties for our nation’s 250th birthday party, I spent some time over the weekend opening six new Trump Accounts for my six children, ages three to 12. They aren’t eligible for the $1,000 baby bonus for opening the accounts, but the younger four will receive $250 each from the Dell Foundation, available to children age 10 and under in most zip codes in the country. The older two may be eligible for a share of SpaceX stock after SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell announced, on the day the accounts launched, that she would gift two million shares to America’s children between the ages of 11 and 17. During his speech at the launch in the Oval Office, Texas Senator Ted Cruz hit on one of the most important parts of the program: a new government initiative that doesn’t make Americans dependent upon the government. Comparing the program to the New Deal, Cruz explained, “Instead of having the government taking care of everyone, Trump Accounts are about making every child and every American a capitalist. Every one of our kids is now going to be an owner of one of the biggest producers in our country.” As the power of the Democratic Socialists of America rises, parents and children more than ever need to understand the power and opportunity that comes in a capitalist society. President Donald Trump understands that nothing can turn you into a capitalist faster than watching the market make your money grow. Americans have been ill-served in the school system, most notably in reading and math, for a myriad of reasons. One aspect of that poor education that’s little discussed is in financial literacy. In most schools in the country, public or private, the topic of investments never comes up. Americans don’t know how to save for their future, for college, or for their retirement. Most assume that investing is only for the super rich, that the only way they can grow their net worth is in a low-interest savings account offered at their local bank. The education component is one of the most powerful assets of the Trump Accounts. Housed within a simple and easy-to-use app, the accounts allow Americans to dive into a crash course on investing. The app offers a dozen four-minute reads on topics such as “The power of compounding,” “What is a stock?” and “What is a fractional share?” Americans can watch the seed money they’ve received grow in real time in their accounts. For the millions of Americans without financial accounts outside of a basic checking and savings account, this is their first chance to see how compounding works in action, encouraging further research into other kinds of investment accounts. The Trump Accounts can and should serve as a gateway drug into Americans opening a 529 account with their state or their own brokerage accounts with a firm like Schwab or Fidelity. On the app, they can load projections based on the average growth of the market based on their child’s age and a sample monthly contribution.  I can easily see how a $50 per month contribution would transform my three-year-old’s account into almost $15,000 by the time he’s 18 and over $433,000 by the time he’s 60. For my 12-year-old, that looks like over $4,000 when she’s 18 and over $231,000 when she’s 60. That sends a powerful message: the greatest gift of compounding is time. The earlier you invest, the better. But also, it’s never too late. That’s not to say that from a tax perspective, the Trump Accounts are the perfect vehicle for growth and sheltering. Critics have argued that other kinds of accounts, such as 529 savings accounts and Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) accounts, may be better options. But depending on individual circumstances, the benefits for many Americans are clear: Employers (including parents who own their own S-Corp companies) and family members can easily invest in a child’s account. Philanthropists like the Dells and SpaceX can contribute and ensure that their fortunes are helping the next generation of American children instead of sinking into useless nonprofits claiming to fight climate, racism, or poverty. They can make a tangible impact fighting poverty instead of paying for office space and consultants. Despite growing up poor (single mom on disability in a single-wide trailer park poor), I learned from my mom the basics of financial management. As a bored 22-year-old recent college graduate barely scraping by at my first job, I taught myself the stock market and used extra money I’d have spent on lunches to buy several stocks. Almost 20 years later, those investments have grown over 1,000%, from $3,600 to over $43,000. I’ve similarly watched my children’s 529 college savings account grow astronomically. After some seed money from family at birth and regular contributions, my four-year-old’s account has already grown from $29,000 to $40,000. The value of my older three kids’ accounts has doubled. After I got a taste of how I could make investing work for me and my family, I was hooked. Watching a few thousand dollars grow into tens of thousands has a way of doing that. Millions of Americans are going to get their first taste of the thrill of investing and the power of capitalism thanks to the Trump Accounts. That lesson is priceless, and we’ll watch its impact compound for decades to come. *** Bethany Mandel (@bethanyshondark) is a homeschooling mother of six and a writer. She is the bestselling co-author, with Karol Markowicz, of “Stolen Youth: How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation.” This article is part of Upstream, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.