Two undecided voters, namely, 48-year-old John Zeitler, an attorney from an insurance company, and 36-year-old Hetal Jani, who is running a nonprofit focused on education and mentorship, wanted to know more about Andrew Yang’s “freedom dividend.” Yang is a first-time presidential candidate.
The voters, along with Morning Edition host Noel King, sat down with Yang at a Midtown Manhattan dumpling shop called Baodega as part of Off Script, a series of interviews with 2020 presidential candidates…
Yang, a tech entrepreneur and author, proposes that the government give every American adult $1,000 a month — a form of universal basic income, no strings attached. He says this income is necessary to address wide-scale job losses due to automation. It would help people have the resources to afford to look for work, care for a loved one, start a business or do nonprofit work.
"It's enough to be a game changer," Yang told the voters. "But it's not meant to be a full work replacement, and it's certainly not meant to solve every problem."
Listen to the audio over at NPR.
What are your thoughts about this one?
(Image Credit: A.J. Chavar for NPR)
Newest 3 Comments
Eventually you run out of other people's money to give away.
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France has a welfare system that gives a safety net for roughly the same amount. Hiring is becoming difficult : would you work 35 hours for an extra mere $300? This system is a poverty trap.
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yang gang
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