Andrew Yang

Entrepreneur

Website

 

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Opportunity

Racial Wealth Gap

Andrew Yang addresses the racial wealth gap through his “The Freedom Dividend” policy. His policy will “implement “a universal basic income of $1,000/month, $12,000 a year, for every American adult over the age of 18.” 

His “Ending Predatory Payday Lending Policy” will eliminate payday loan companies who target populations with higher-than-average poverty rates, lower income levels, lower education levels, and single-parents and minority groups, by “providing basic banking services through US post offices so underbanked or unbanked communities have better access to financial services.”

In the Democratic debate held in New Hampshire in Feb. 2020, he said, “‘You can’t regulate away racism,’…before citing the writings of Martin Luther King, stating, ‘he was championing… a guaranteed minimum income for all Americans of $1,000 a month or more that would end up reshaping our economy in communities of color, make it so that black net worth is not 10 percentage of white net worth in this country, which is the most important number of them all.’”

Affordable Housing

Yang addresses access to affordable housing in his zoning policy. His policy will:

• “Work with localities to relax zoning ordinances for the purpose of increasing the development of affordable housing.”

• “Encourage the building of new innovative housing options like micro-apartments and communal living for people in high-density urban areas.”

Access to High Quality Education

Andrew Yang addresses access to a high quality education through his “Control the Cost of Higher Education” policy. His policy will:

• “Stipulate that any university that receives public funding cannot increase its costs by more than the rate of annual median wage growth the year before.” 

Yang’s “Reduce Student Debt Loan Burden” policy will:

• “Change bankruptcy laws to make it easier to discharge educational debt.”

• “Initiate a program that allows graduates to pay a percent of income instead of a fixed amount.”

Yang’s “Supporting Historically Black Colleges and University” policy will:

• “Ensure HBCU federal funding levels are equitable when compared to similar schools.”

• “Commit $250 million in federal funds to provide training programs in grant writing for faculty and staff at HBCUs.”

• “Provide $7.5 billion in federal funding for general infrastructure improvements including facilities and academic resources, as well as $750 million for building out a fundraising infrastructure.”

• “Strengthen HBCUs with support for loan forgiveness and salary incentives through $1.5 billion in federal funding to recent PhDs who commit to teaching at HBCUs.”

• “Strengthen and empower the White House Initiative on HBCUs by providing $6 billion in federal funding for scholarships and internships through the organization.”

Yang’s “Early Childhood Education for All” policy will:

• Direct the Department of Education to work with states to create a plan for universal pre-kindergarten education

• Provide loan forgiveness for education majors who volunteer at places that provide pre-K education.

Yang’s “Make Community College More Affordable for All” policy will:

• “Work to fund community colleges to a point where they can provide free (or drastically reduced) tuition to anyone from the community (especially those taking vocational classes)”

Environmental Equity

Andrew Yang addresses environmental equity in his climate change policy. His policy will:

• “Establish a Climate Change Adaptation Institute with a starting annual budget of $4.5 billion to monitor the ongoing effects of climate change and propose new adaptation measures, including:

  • Better urban planning, better farming methods, and better land use, especially with respect to water management during droughts.

  • Educational drives to inform people on how to cope with heat waves, and prepare treatment centers to quickly respond to and treat individuals suffering from the effects of a heat wave.

  • Better equipping local officials to respond to emergencies such as floods, droughts, landslides, mudslides, avalanches and outbreaks.”

• “Invest $25 billion over 10 years in helping communities that are likely to be impacted by repeated hurricane and flood damage to make their communities more disaster-resistant through pre-disaster mitigation grants.”

• “Reevaluate the way FEMA and the NFIP determine where structures can be rebuilt, taking a stricter stance against rebuilding in danger zones.”

• “Research coastal communities that are likely to be impacted by rising sea levels and provide property owners with information about risks and option
  s.”

• “Make up to $40 billion available in subsidies, grants, and low-interest loans to individuals who wish to elevate or relocate their homes, or move to higher ground.”

• “Help communities plan for rising sea levels with expertise and information.”

• “Invest $30 billion in high-risk cities to build seawalls and water pumps, upgrade roads and sewer systems, and rejuvenate beaches to serve as barriers to rising sea levels.”

• “Ensure $4 billion in annual funding for vocational and apprenticeship programs to meet the demand for installation and maintenance/repair technicians for the new, sustainable economy.”

• “Create the Renewable Energy Building Association – REBA – to loan up to $3 trillion over 20 years to individuals to purchase heat pumps, solar panels, batteries, and other technologies for their residences. If households choose to take advantage of this, they will pay off these loans at a 3% (or lower) interest rate and will end up paying less annually than their previous energy bills.” 

• “End all fossil fuel subsidies and use that money for retraining programs and subsidies for low-income individuals to transition to sustainable energy sources.”

Health Equity

Andrew Yang addresses health equity in his Medicare for All policy. His policy will: 

• “Explore ways to reduce the burden of healthcare on employers, including by giving employees the option to enroll in Medicare for All instead of an employer-provided healthcare plan.”

• “Invest in implicit bias training for healthcare providers to ensure Black women receive life-saving maternal care.”

• “Ensure Americans have access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive care, including STI screenings, contraception, and abortion.”

• “Ensure contraceptives and medication abortion pills can be accessed over the counter.

• “Bring down the cost of HIV/AIDS treatment through international reference pricing and public manufacturing facilities, if necessary.”

• “Cover HIV/AIDS treatment.”

• “Break the patent on TRUVADA to provide low-cost PrEP to anyone who might be at risk.”

• “Work with Congress to pass a law to negotiate drug prices.” 

• “Use international reference pricing to set a baseline and allow for forced licensing of medications if companies can’t come to a reasonable agreement with the federal government on cost in line with international prices.”

• “Create public manufacturing facilities to produce generic drugs (and produce drugs through a forced license) to keep costs at a minimum.”

Transportation Access

Andrew Yang addresses transportation access in his “Rebuild American Infrastructure” policy. His policy will:

• “Propose a $1 trillion infrastructure investment over 5 years that will support over 13 million jobs and generate $1.5 trillion-plus in increased efficiency and productivity.”

According to Yang’s climate change policy, he will:

• “Create a $200 billion grant program to states to convert their public transportation systems (trains, buses, school buses) to electric vehicles.”

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Justice

Bail/Prison Reform 

Andrew Yang addresses bail/prison reform in his “Ensuring Voter Access for Our Democracy” policy. His policy will:

• “Eliminate mandatory minimums.”

Andrew Yang addresses bail/prison reform in his “Criminal Justice Reform” policy. The policy will:

• “Reduce the use of cash bail.”

• “Increase pre-trial services.”

• “End the use of private prison facilities for federal inmates.”

• “Reconsider harsh felony laws that prevent those who have served their prison term from reintegrating into society.”

• “Implement Universal Basic Income which will dramatically decrease incentives for criminality and improve the functioning of individuals and communities.”

• “Identify non-violent drug offenders for probation and potential early release.”

• “Legalize Cannabis.”

• “Restore voting rights for convicted felons.”

Re-Entry Services

Andrew Yang addresses re-entry services in his “Reduce Mass Incarceration” policy. His policy will:

• “Invest money to fund innovative prison programs that decrease recidivism and increase reintegration.”

• “Invest money to support businesses that hire felons who have served their prison term.”

Ending Capital Punishment

Andrew Yang is against reinstituting capital punishment. Yang expressed his views during a 2019 interview with the New York Times: 

• “I oppose the death penalty. It’s incredibly costly. We’ve made tragic errors in our past and likely will continue to do so. And our application
  of the death penalty is racist is racist in many situations.”

Expanding Gun Safety Measures

Andrew Yang addresses expanding gun safety measures in his “Gun Safety” policy. The policy will:

• “Close the gun show and Charleston loopholes, requiring all gun sales and most transfers to have a background check run and completed.”

• “Promote a stringent licensing system, with a 5-year renewal requirement, for gun ownership.”

• “Prohibit the manufacture and sale of bump stocks, suppressors, incendiary/exploding ammunition, and grenade launcher attachments, and other accessories that alter functionality in a way that increases their firing rate or impact.”

• “Create an agency tasked with monitoring gun manufacturing developments and addressing “design-arounds” as they arise.”

• “Renew a ban on Large Capacity Ammo Feeding Devices (LCAFDs) and after-market non-standard large capacity magazines.”

• “Create federal safety guidelines for gun manufacture and distribution, similar to federal car safety requirements, with strict penalties for the violation of these guidelines.”

• “Implement a federal buyback program for anyone who wants to voluntarily give up their firearm.”

• “Initiate and fund mindfulness programs in schools and correctional facilities, which have been demonstrated to reduce violent behavior.”

• “Require all locations where guns are sold to display information on how to receive mental health treatment or reach suicide crisis hotlines.”

• “Invest in personalized gun technology that makes it difficult or impossible for someone other than a gun’s owner to fire it, and ensure that they’re for sale on the marketplace.”

Improving Police-Community Relations 

Andrew Yang addresses improving community-police relations in his “Every Cop Gets a Camera” policy. His policy will:

• “Authorize federal funding to pay for a body camera for every officer in every police department in the country.”  

• “Have the DOJ compile accurate composite measurements, including from private sources, of police-related incidents and deaths to establish baseline rates.”

• “Provide federal funding for training of local police officers in the latest techniques.”

• “Encourage community-based policing and reward departments for a combination of low complaints and continued efficacy.”

• “Re-establish the ban on distributing surplus unnecessary military-level artillery gear to police departments.”

• “Invest in new non-lethal weaponry that can be used to de-escalate conflicts at range and handprint signature guns so that weapons can only be used by their officers.”

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Democracy

Voting Rights

Andrew Yang addresses voting rights in his “Ensuring Voter Access for Our Democracy” policy. His policy will:

• “Elimination of discriminatory laws and initiatives to increase voter participation across the board.”

• “Require states to get permission from the Department of Justice before implementing any voter ID laws.”

• “Direct the DOJ to prohibit all voter ID laws that disenfranchise underrepresented communities.”

• “Implement a federal law that requires all states to integrate voting by early voting and mail-in ballots to their voting process.”

• “Require states to eliminate onerous name and signature matching requirements that lead to the rejection of legitimate votes without giving voters the opportunity to fix these issues.”

• “Provide states with the funds necessary to ensure that all polling locations and voting methods are accessible to people with disabilities.” 

• “Restore voting rights to individuals convicted of felonies and prohibit states from denying ex-felons the right to vote.” 

• “Lower the voting age for federal elections to 16.”

• “Increase federal funding toward ballot box security so voting machines cannot be hacked and have a paper trail for mandatory audits.”

Access to Voter Registration

Andrew Yang addresses access to voter registration in his “Automatic and Same-Day Voter Registration” policy. His policy will: 

• “Set automatic voter registration requirements for federal elections.”

• “Require all federal elections to offer opportunities for same-day voter registration.”

• “Provide funding to states to update their voter enrollment systems to electronic ones, and to integrate with federal systems, as well as each other, to ensure up-to-date voter information and easy transfer of data.”

• “Make Election Day a federal holiday on the second Tuesday of every November.”

Gerrymandering

Andrew Yang addresses gerrymandering in his “End Partisan Gerrymandering” policy. This policy will:  

• “Promote the use of the efficiency gap to measure partisan gerrymandering when evaluating and drawing district maps.”

• “Promote the use of independent redistricting commissions (a nonpartisan, supermajority commission)”

• “Appoint Supreme Court justices who support the use of sociological tools such as the efficiency gap to help end partisan gerrymandering.”

Census 2020

Andrew Yang’s campaign platform does not address plans for Census 2020.