Hey! If you’re not following the current Democratic Debates, then what are you doing with your life? The social and economic state of this country is at stake!
Okay, so all of us (I think) will finally be able to vote in the 2020 Presidential elections next November and I’m definitely super stoked about. To put it in simple terms, shit is whack in our country right now whether you want to believe it or not. I could go on about what exactly is wrong, however, that is for a different blog. Right now I’m here to talk about our Democratic candidates!
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So, obviously, we have Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren polling at the top. These are your veteran politicians who have been in the limelight for a number of years. Just below them are Buttigieg, Harris, and my man Andrew Yang.
Who is Andrew Yang? Well, I’ll tell you who Andrew Yang is and his plan to set this country straight if elected for office.
Note: the purpose of this blog is not to make you vote for Andrew Yang but to expose you to his wonderful policies and ideas.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way – back to Andrew. Well, first of all, he is not a politician. He is an entrepreneur, business-owner who knows the ins and outs of our economy and seemingly has a solution to prevent it from crumbling.
He has been named a Champion of Change in 2012 and a Presidential Ambassador of Global Entrepreneurship in 2015 by THE Barack Obama.
Yang’s impending policy that has brought him lots of media attention these past few months is the proposal of his Freedom Dividend. The Freedom Dividend is a Universal Basic Income that would give every American over the age of 18, $1000 a month – no strings attached. Wild. I know, I was also taken aback when I first heard this. Many Americans are losing their jobs to automation and the new wave of technology. The money would come from a new tax on mega-corporations that currently rely on automation for their success. Did you know that Amazon paid $0 in taxes last year? How can the people of our country who have so little thrive when those with the most aren’t paying a dime? This extra $1000 a month would allow the everyday American to do a lot of things, but ultimately it would allow them to have a choice. To invest their money in something that’s important to them rather than spending money and barely making ends meet. The Freedom Dividend would also reward those who do the jobs that don’t get enough recognition: stay-at-home parents.
Along with his other two main policies, Medicare for All and Human-Centered Capitalism, his website includes more than 160 others, making him the candidate with the most extensive plan of action.
If you’re on Twitter, you’ll notice that #YANGMEDIABLACKOUT or #LETYANGSPEAK will begin trending whenever a debate is around the corner. (He is a pretty active social media user, however, his posts and tweets are actually relevant and legible!) Yang frequently polls at the top 6 positions yet he is always given the least amount of speaking time and questions during the debates. I remember during the first debates in June, people (I included) were freaking about because it seemed like MSNBC muted Yang’s mic so he could not speak. I have watched many other separate videos on how MSNBC always seems to turn the attention away from Yang and never give him the exposure they do for other candidates. I don’t know…it’s something interesting to think about. 
Despite the little speaking time he gets, every time Yang does actually talk, he gets countless praises for his cool, nonchalant style and brute logicism. His answers are clear and to the point, and often engages the audience. He makes the most of the little he receives.
Also, the reason I really like him as a candidate isn’t just because he’s Asian. I’ll admit that I was initially drawn to him because of our connecting heritages, but it’s his humanity and purpose that has ultimately won me over. I mean, he’s just a regular guy who wants to make a positive change so that his two, young sons don’t have to grow up in a hurting country. I think his slogan “It’s not left, it’s not right, it’s forward,” is exactly what the American people need to hear.
So please, I really urge everyone to check out Andrew Yang and what he has to say. If you don’t want to do that, then at least start your research on the other candidates so you’ll be prepared when November 2020 comes around.
But yea, having an Asian president would be pretty cool though.
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Works Cited
“2020 – Latest 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary Polls.” RealClearPolitics, www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/democratic_nomination_polls/.
“Our Policies – Yang2020 – Andrew Yang for President.” Yang2020, www.yang2020.com/policies/.
Great post!
Personally, I find Yang to be super personable. He takes time to talk on all platforms possible. He’s been on mainstream media but also on podcasts and shows with the likes of Ben Shapiro, Joe Rogan, and Nigahiga. He’s also been endorsed by a diverse range of people from Elon Musk to Hannibal Buress. Interestingly, he has the highest percentage of his campaign income to come from small donors out of all the Democratic candidates. Outside of his popularity, he seems to have a plan for everything, backed up by the 160+ policy proposals on his website. However, although the Freedom Dividend makes sense in its funding and benefits, I’m still a little skeptical about the long term effects of UBI. Anyways, I still haven’t made up my mind on who to vote for, but Yang is definitely up there.
Hey Eric, thanks for reading my post! It’s been super cool to see the different people Yang has been collaborating and interacting with. When him and Ryan Higa did a podcast together, my 5th grade self was sooooooo exctied. I also find him to be super personable, which has been extremely refreshing. Yea, the UBI is still a very daunting proposal. If you wanna read more on it, Alaska has the closest thing to the an UBI called the Alaska Permanent Fund. I read an article on it, and it was really interesting to see the positives and negatives that have correlated with this UBI. Also, Finland recently did a 2-year experiment with the UBI and while official data is available, the preliminary ones are out, so you should definitely check that out if you want!
OMG when I saw this blog post I knew I had to comment. I LOVE Andrew Yang. He made the usual stingy me buy an overpriced Yang
Gang shirt. I greatly appreciate how you used this blog post to as you said “expose” us to his logical policies. When I tell people that I support Andrew Yang, they automatically assume that I enjoy race identity politics because I’m Asian-American as well. Really though, I look for well thought out policies. While candidates like Warren and Sanders support a wealth tax, Yang supports the value added tax which is a much better policy. There was a NYT article written by well renowned economist Mankiw in which he supports Yang’s economic policies over those of Warren’s and Sander’s. The wealth tax didn’t even work in the EU when it was implemented a few years ago so I don’t want America to not learn from the mistakes of other people. Andrew Yang simply found the correct source problem to America’s drying up manufacturing jobs, automation.
Because his policies are very logical, it adds more insult to injury when journalists disregard this candidate. MSNBC forgot Yang twice when broadcasting candidates’ fundraising numbers! As a reputable news station you can’t make these mistakes. I don’t know the full reason why he’s treated as a joke by news organizations whether he’s Asian-American or whether he has no political experience whatsoever, but that needs to change because his policies have a way of steering America back to the right direction
Why wouldn’t you want $1000/month?
Hahaha yesss I’m very close to buying the Pride Button Set from his website! Also, thank you for reading my blog, I’m glad I caught your attention. I didn’t know that EU implemented a wealth tax several years ago, and the point you bring up about learning from other people’s mistakes is very valid. I wonder if any of the other candidates have mentioned this when Warren and Sanders vocalize their support for a wealth tax? And yes, I couldn’t agree more, MSNBC should not be making these “mistakes” anymore, especially since Yang continues to gain recognition on other media platforms. #yanggang