On Sunday, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang made a stop during his busy eastern Iowa tour at Dodici Shop in Washington. Locals packed the coffee shop to hear what Yang will bring to the table if he is elected president in 2020.
With a sprinkle of comedic charm, Yang touched on topics including health care, gun control, and the freedom dividend, a policy that will give all American citizens over the age of 18, $1,000 a month. He described the policy to the crowd during his speech. “If you are here today, you have heard at some point that there is a man running for president that wants to give everyone $1,000 a month. This is not a new idea, and it’s not my idea. Thomas Paine was for it at the founding of the country and called it the ‘Citizen’s Dividend’ for all Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. was working for this when he was killed in 1968. A guaranteed minimum income for all Americans. It was so mainstream that it passed the U.S. House of Representatives twice in 1971 under Nixon. It was called the ‘Family Assistance Plan’ and it would have guaranteed every family a certain income. It is incredibly easy to afford and pay for as long as we get our tiny fair share of every Amazon sale, every Google search, every Facebook ad, eventually every robot truck mile and AI work unit. We put that money into your hands, we build a trickle up economy. From our people, our families and our communities up. ”
Yang also spoke with KCII news following the event about what he will do to mend the divide in America today if he is elected. “One poll showed, I was attracting 10% of Trump voters, higher than just about any other democratic candidate. Another survey said that 18% of college republicans would choose me over Donald Trump. I’m already attracting thousands of diseffected Trump voters as well as independents and libertarians, in addition to democrats and progressives. I am the strongest candidate to beat Donald Trump in a general election for that reason. People get the sense that I am not ideological, that I just want to implement solutions that will improve our way of life. I think Americans are very hungry for a new approach to government and politics.”
Yang will be heading out to New Hampshire next, visiting various communities in the state, including Manchester, Merrimack, and Portsmouth. For more information about where Yang will be next, visit www.yang2020.com. Iowans will go to the polls on February 3rd to caucus.