Andrew Yang is PUMPED for Tonight’s Democratic Presidential Debates
By Jin Hyun
Last night, the first group of democratic presidential hopefuls gathered on stage for the first democratic presidential primary debate.
Tonight, 10 more Democrats will take the stage in the second round of debates. The lineup for this event includes, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Marianne Williamson, John Hickenlooper, Pete Buttigieg, Kirsten Gillibrand, Michael Bennet, Eric Swalwell, and of course, Andrew Yang.
Last night, Yang took to Twitter to share his hilarious thoughts live during the debates, even commenting on his own Spanish skills after former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s answered in both English and Spanish when addressing a question about the marginal tax rate. Yang wrote, “My Spanish is terrible,” followed by, “Sorry Ms. Trovato my 9th grade Spanish teacher – not your fault.”
However, due to the large number of debaters and a limited two hour slot, as well as the media’s tendency to underestimate Yang’s influence and popularity among voters, the Democrat also noted, “Based on last night I will get between 5 and 10 minutes of airtime tonight. Seems about right.”
However he remained hopeful as he continued, “I’m glad I don’t feel pressure to manufacture some ‘breakout’ moment as we are in great position to make the debates through the Fall.”
While the air time may be limited as the presidential hopeful suggests, here are some possible topics Yang could cover during tonight’s debate:
Universal Basic Income — a.k.a. the “Freedom Dividend”
On Andrew Yang’s official campaign website, it states, “Andrew would implement a Universal Basic Income, ‘the Freedom Dividend,’ of $1,000/month, $12,000 a year for every American adult over the age of 18. This is independent of one’s work status or any other factor.”
Yang believes this extra income could help Americans to pay their bills, take care of their health and education, look after children and loved ones, and overall provide a better future.
Job Automation
The “Freedom Dividend” was an idea Yang came up with to solve the issue of increased automation of American jobs.
Yang writes on his Twitter, “You might not think of your job as vulnerable to automation, but almost half of jobs in the U.S. fall into repetitive manual or cognitive work. It’s not just retail clerks and Uber drivers but also accountants and radiologists.”
Medicare Care for All
Currently the U.S. has implemented a private healthcare system that leaves millions of citizens and residents uninsured or even bankrupt. Yang wants to take it a step further from the Affordable Care Act and introduce a “Medicare for All” system.
His website explains, “Through a Medicare for All system, we can ensure that all Americans receive the healthcare they deserve. Not only will this raise the quality of life for all Americans, but, by increasing access to preventive care, it will bring overall healthcare costs down.”
Human-Centered Capitalism
The Democratic presidential hopeful also wants to shift the focus of the U.S. economy from corporate profit to maximizing human welfare. He believes these three ideas would be the central tenets of “human capitalism”:
- Humans are more important than money
- The unit of a Human Capitalism economy is each person, not each dollar
- Markets exist to serve our common goals and values
For avid members of the #YangGang, Andrew Yang himself has laid out a game plan for tonight’s debate and exactly what his followers can do to support his cause and grow their movement.
Tonight’s debate will be hosted by NBC, MSNBC, and Telemundo and will begin at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.
Featured image (left) via Instagram/@AndrewYang2020, (right) via YouTube/Andrew Yang for President 2020
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