Forward Thinking Government Programs

2026 will see several excellent new federal programs that haven’t received much attention in the media. We highlight three of those programs below and very much hope people take good advantage of them.

School Choice Tax Credits:

This program removes layers of inefficient bureaucracy and middlemen in the flow of federal education money. Parents, or anyone else, can now personally control where a portion of federal funding goes by routing it directly to a local scholarship/grant program in your state.

It works by way of a federal tax credit. First, you pick a nonprofit scholarship-granting organization (SGO) in the area where you live. You then contribute any amount of money you wish (up to $1,700) to that organization. When you file your federal taxes for that year, you will receive a tax credit for the exact amount of money you contributed to the SGO. In effect, a portion of the money (up to $1,700) that you would have normally paid in federal taxes, instead goes directly to a local scholarship fund enabling student recipients to attend the school of their choice.

While the money you contribute is out of your pocket between the time you give it to the SGO and before you get the tax credit, in the end you are fully reimbursed and haven’t actually spent any of your own money. You just diverted a portion of the federal tax you owed the government to an SGO.

The best part about this contribution program is that it is open to everyone, not just the parents of school age children. It supercharges the movement of education decisions from the federal level down to the local level and creates healthy merit-based competition among schools.

One caveat is that the governor of your state must agree to “opt-in” to the program. While this would seem to be a no-brainer (more than half of state governors have already agreed to opt-in), some Trump-hating governors are holding back simply because they oppose everything the Trump Administration does. That would be a senseless shame for the people, and especially the children, living in those states.

Trump Accounts:

This is a great way to save for a child’s future. It is also a model for the future of how the federal government could ease its way out of the financial death spiral of social security. There are a lot of things to love about this program. Here’s how it works –

Any child born from January 1^st, 2025 onward can have a Trump account set up for them with a starting balance of $1,000 provided by the federal government. Parents, other family members, or the child him/herself can add money to the account as the child grows up (up to $5,000 per year). The money is invested in stock and/or bond index funds and the dividends accumulate tax free.

Unlike traditional college saving plans (e.g. a 529 college savings account) where the money must be used exclusively for educational expenses, once a Trump account owner turns eighteen, he/she can use the money without penalty for higher education expenses, a down payment on a first-time home purchase, starting a business, or the birth or adoption of a child. Alternatively, the money can simply stay in the account, which is treated from then on as a traditional IRA. It could also be rolled over into a Roth IRA.

The main feature of a Trump account, and what makes it different from a 529, is that the child is the account owner, not the parents. The parents, or whoever sets up the account, are simply custodians until the child turns 18 years old. Thus, upon turning 18, the child not only has money to defray college costs and/or other major life events, they have an established retirement savings vehicle in their name already set up with money in it.

As anyone saving for retirement knows, “time” is the greatest investment advantage anyone can have. Starting at age 0 maximizes that advantage. Imagine a future where children born now would cease to be part of the social security system when they grew up and instead have their retirements funded via these Trump accounts. Let’s say the government decided to contribute $1,000 each year into the child’s account instead of just $1,000 at the beginning. That child would end up with nearly $1.4 million in the account by the time they turned 65. And that would be with no contributions at all from the child or the family. That total government investment of $65,000 per child is far, far less than the government would otherwise spend on social security payments if the child had a 30-year retirement.

This program is currently funded through December 31^st, 2028. The 2029 congress would need to extend it beyond that.

Tech Force:

This new federal program will infuse high level technical talent in key areas throughout government where artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data analytics can be expertly applied. It is also an awesome way for young people to get some solid technical working experience on their resume and make good money while doing it. The program will initially hire 1,000 people for a two-year commitment and pays between $150K – $200K per year. No college degree or minimum amount of working experience is required, however individual job listings may require some specialty training, tech certifications and demonstrated technical expertise.

Here is some text about the program directly from the Tech Force website:

Through a two-year program, participants will work in teams reporting directly to agency leadership. In collaboration with leading technology companies, participants will receive technical training, engage with industry leaders, and work closely with senior managers from companies partnering with the Tech Force.

A lot of major companies have already signed up to partner with the government in this program. It is a way to take advantage of young, inventive and talented people who may have gained their technical know-how through non-traditional means. There is no long-term commitment unless the participant chooses to seek a job with the government or federal contractor at the conclusion of their assignment.

All three of these programs are practical and forward thinking. They are innovative solutions that get people more deeply involved in shaping their own futures, and that of their children, rather than hoping that the government will do it for you.