A Though on Andrew Yang and the Freedom Dividend
Andrew Yang is the entrepreneur and founder of Venture for America running for President of the United States of America with over 80 policies on his site Yang2020.com. With more policies declared than any candidate to ever run for president, Andrew Yang has a flagship policy proposal that puts money in every citizen’s pocket. His number one policy has been branded as the Freedom Dividend, because it polls better in focus groups than Universal Basic Income (UBI). This concept is not new. The world renown conservative economist was in favor of UBI, which he referred to as a “negative income tax”. Thomas Paine was also in favor of this concept at the founding of the country. This is very much a republican/conservative idea.
The Freedom Dividend is set for $1000 a month per citizen over the age of 18, for the rest of their life. Of course, this is very much an opt-in situation. As time progresses, those on social security will be less and less. The amount of people on food stamps will decrease substantially until it is eliminated. I know my mother, who doesn’t even get $800 a month would definitely appreciate the boost to her income. Shall we not value those in our society who have lived their life, who raise our children, who volunteer their time? The #FreedomDividend is a way to restructure our society and reevaluate what one’s life, time, and work is worth. Andrew Yang often speaks about how much his wife’s work is measured towards GDP. She is a stay at home mother doing the most significant job on the planet, being a mother. Her GDP value is literally – ZERO. My significant other for the past couple years has also stayed at home raising our daughter – and has done a great job with it. However, she is now forced back into the workforce due to a series of bad breaks and lack of funds. The idea that we would not only be OK through the winter months, and down time of the business, but would be comfortable enough to not stress over the fact that my credit score dropped over 250 points in a matter of 2 weeks because of late payments, is more that one could ever ask for.
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Myself, as I run a lawn and landscaping company could really use that assistance. Unlike most people who start businesses, I have had zero investments, zero loans, zero dollars to start my business. When I started The Lawn Service LLC 4 years ago, I literally pushed a lawn mower around the neighborhood to mow lawns. Now, 4 years into this I still can’t get a loan, there are so many other companies that have the ability to raise working capital which really moves their businesses into a positive direction. I don’t have that privilege of being able to go and get money. I’m now further than I was when I started, but at the end of every winter, with no income, I’m now further behind in all my bills. I had to overdraft my accounts in order to pay bills and survive because the bank refused to give me a loan. Coming from a working poor background, there was little to no financial literacy in my upbringing. Did that make a difference? It’s likely.
I’m not exactly sure how that would be taxed or viewed for tax purposes, but with the idea that it was free and clear with “no strings attached” I would assume it’s tax free money. The idea that we are a part of the greatest, richest, most technologically advanced society in the history of the planet makes it seem not only probable that we could afford to do this, but necessary. For years I told people that I talked to that I believed that we, every human on this planet, did not ask to be here. We should live in a society where we are welcomed, greeted with all the basic necessities of life like, “here, welcome to this world we have created for you. Here is a house, food, and activities. We have awaited your existence” the Freedom Dividend does just that.
The one thing I wish/hope Mr. Yang would understand, show he understands, or accepts is the reality that the central private bank is not good for any country. A full audit or dismantling of the Federal Reserve would put us in dire straits for a bit but would be a huge beneficial win for the country in the long term. This is what had me enamored with the Ron Paul Revolution. Paul’s campaign is what had me researching and learning about where our money comes from, what is money, and how the banking cartel has taking control of the constitutionally given write of congress “To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures.
I digress, Andrew Yang’s candidacy seems to be centered around the data that he has studied – hence one of his monikers is simply “MATH”. Sidenote: I believe that is also a play on his Asian persuasion and that of the stereotype of Asians being good at math. All of that being said, consider this, what would you do with an extra $1000 a month from your government? How would it feel if you told your son or you daughter near their 18th birthday, “you are going to start getting a check for $1000 from your government because your government loves and values you as a human being”?