AB997 would appropriate $60 million in annual funding toward contributions to Trump Accounts during the 2025-27 fiscal biennium.
The Assembly passed AB997 on February 19, 2026, by a vote of 62 to 35. We have assigned pluses to the nays because Trump Accounts are nothing but another manifestly socialist wealth-redistribution scheme designed to lead to a "universal basic income." The State of Wisconsin, let alone the federal government, has no business using taxpayer money to subsidize individual retirement accounts. Nor should lawmakers create two classes of American citizens. (Only children born between 2025 and 2028 may receive a $1,000 deposit from the U.S. Treasury.) The reality is that government has no money of its own to "contribute," and taxation disguised as "social welfare" is robbery. There exists no right to income apart from a person earning it themselves, through their own labor or investment. Legislation that arbitrarily picks economic "winners" and "losers" is both immoral and unconstitutional. The U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights and 14th Amendment were meant to promote the "general Welfare" and ensure "equal protection of the laws."
