Former presidential candidate Andrew M. Yang spoke about universal basic income, the spread of misinformation, and his Asian-American identity at the Institute of Politics’ virtual JFK Jr. Forum Tuesday.
Yang — the first Asian-American man to run for president in the Democratic party primaries — is known for his stance in favor of establishing a universal basic income. Dubbed the “Freedom Dividend” by his campaign, Yang argued that every U.S. citizen over the age of 18 should receive $1,000 per month from the federal government.
In Tuesday’s forum, Yang spoke about support for universal basic income in light of the stimulus checks sent out by the federal government as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“[Support for UBI] grew a ton during my campaign and then it grew even more during the pandemic, unfortunately. Because when all of the business is shot, everyone looks around and says, ‘Well, I guess we should send people money, so they can survive,’” Yang said. “So…
