Gerber KawasakiPrivate± Mixed
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Ross Gerber, Justin Wolfers Slam Trump's $5,000 Dividend Plan
MacroGeopolitics
President Donald Trump has promised a $5,000 dividend payout to adult U.S. citizens if Republicans hold Congress in November, drawing sharp criticism from investor Ross Gerber and economist Justin Wolfers. Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management, warned Thursday that the plan would fuel inflation if funded by printing money, saying Trump wants to "print money and send inflation through the roof if we vote his cronies in." Wolfers argued on X that the plan amounts to the government dictating consumer spending rather than expanding it, and warned that a domestic-only voucher would violate World Trade Organization rules barring subsidies contingent on buying domestic over imported goods, saying Trump had "accidentally started another trade war." Based on the Census Bureau's 2024 estimates of 245.3 million adult citizens, the $5,000 payout would cost roughly $1.23 trillion, more than the Pentagon's entire fiscal 2026 budget and more than the roughly $1 trillion the Congressional Budget Office projects the federal government will spend on net interest in fiscal 2026. U.S. producer prices climbed 5.4% year-over-year in August, topping the 5.3% economists had forecast and accelerating from July's 4.8% pace, according to Labor Department data released Thursday, with the midterm elections set for Nov. 3.