Yang 2020

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He’s a data guy. If you want to work out whether a country is meeting the needs of its citizens then the fact that more people are dying than being born is a piece of data worth considering, irrespective of the demographic it applies to. If half-wits infer that his agenda is white supremacy then that’s not his problem.
I like someone approaching politics and policy with data in an era where we're used to seeing shite spouted on a regular basis, but as daft as it may seem I also think politicians have to be careful not to become too dependent on data: politics is ultimately going to be ideological to a certain extent, especially when you consider the different ways in which sets of data can be interpreted depending on your perspective, and I think that's something any politician has to consider. And I wonder if the issue with Yang as someone (seemingly) new to this game is that he may not understand that. Although time will tell.
 

Tarrou

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I haven't seen his Rogan interview yet but I like his approach and hope over time some his ideas gain traction. 2020 is too early for him but you never know!
 

Arruda

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I was answering the bolded part which is incorrect. No where in Europe are more people dying than being born.
It has happened in Portugal for 10 years in a row now,it's a well known phenomenon. And other countries too, I'm sure (quick google search confirms it has happened in Greece and Scotland, for example).

Caused by extremely low birth rate and aging, as life expectancy has continuously gone up.
 
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Snow

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It has happened in Portugal for 10 years in a row now. And other countries too, I'm sure.

Caused by extremely low birth rate and aging, as life expectancy has continuously gone up.
Consider me wrong and corrected then.
 

Snow

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I read somewhere the EU had more deaths than births in 2017
You are correct, for 2016 at least so 2017 is probably also true. At the same time governments are shutting down borders to immigrants...
 

Arruda

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You are correct, for 2016 at least so 2017 is probably also true. At the same time governments are shutting down borders to immigrants...
Immigration will be a necessity, whether people like it or not. Projections in Portugal point to 7 million in 2080 (we're currently above 10 million, and these estimates include immigration, not just births-deaths). And while population decrease per se shouldn't be a problem, aging certainly is, as social security will crumble.

Well, I guess we can always count on robots to take care of us dependent old men, and create enough wealth to go around. Perhaps this automation will turn indeed into a blessing rather than a plague.
 

Eriku

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It's irrelevant though, he's interesting enough for people wanting to discuss him separately, as can be seen by the number of replies the thread got in 90 minutes, even if you discount the useless posts of people questioning whether there should be a thread.

You can create a thread about Joe Biden and his magnificent chances and no one gives a feck.
Fair enough. Mind you, Biden might have a chance at the nomination, but I doubt he has any real chance of ousting Trump.
 

11101

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IMHO this guy is too interesting to not have his own thread (especially in the era of death to mega-threads)

Here’s a good overview of all his policies. Even the wackiest ones are kind of cool, if you ask me.

If you want to get to know him better this podcast is a good primer (2.5m views so far).


So anyway. I’m a fan. Anyone else?
Reading through his policies there's a lot to agree with, thinly veiled UBI bribe notwithstanding. Unfortunately they don't matter. Nobody with that surname is getting elected in the US any time soon.
 

Irish Jet

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Bit different, as I'm sure you're aware.
His middle name was Hussein and it's one letter from Osama. The type of people this would matter to hate Muslim's above all else and nothing screams Muslim quite like the guy who did 9/11.

Yang has a lot of problems in 2020. That isn't really one of them.
 

11101

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Surely Andrew Yang is much preferable name to have, compared to Barrack Hussein Obama. If you are preparing to run for office.
Issues with Obama's name were limited to the racist backwaters of America. Distrust of China is a majority viewpoint.
 

Andrew~

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Think he's an idiot. But then I said the same of Trump so he'll probably win.
 

VorZakone

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He sounds like an interesting guy. I've seen his name mentioned a few times on Reddit too.
 

Andrew~

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He’s clearly not an idiot.
He seems a bit dense to me. He's been a running joke around my circles since we discovered #YangGang. He seems like the result of a polling agency asking what policies are popular with 18-30 year olds and making that their platform.
 

oneniltothearsenal

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He seems a bit dense to me. He's been a running joke around my circles since we discovered #YangGang. He seems like the result of a polling agency asking what policies are popular with 18-30 year olds and making that their platform.
Yang should take that as a compliment of the highest order
 

Andrew~

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Have you heard him talk?
I have, seems like really genuine guy with a way of viewing the world I don’t agree with. The idiot thing was a bit far but I can’t remember a single policy of his I read that didn’t make me think this guy is either trolling or an idiot.

His personal qualities and UBI could make him a big contender though (as you know I don’t agree with it, but it’s obviously very popular right now).

Yang should take that as a compliment of the highest order
Fortunately for him he hasn’t fallen far enough to a place where he has to care what I think.
 

berbatrick

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Maybe it’s for the UBI thread but his rationale for the $1k/month is that it gives people a little breathing space to find creative ways to earn a living. And it’s not about each individual having a little more money it’s about everyone having more disposable income, all at the same time. There wouldn’t be a sudden switch where everyone ends up on UBI with no other income. What would happen would be a softer landing as the unemployed rate rises and a lot more money coming into poor communities that will hopefully help keep local businesses/employers afloat.

Besides, how is that vision of the future more dystopian than the exact same scenario playing out, minus UBI?
If that's the case, then the Finland experiment should give him pause.
Finland has begun reporting on its two-year experiment with the so-called basic income—guaranteed monthly cash for citizens. So how did it work out? The results so far are mixed.

The program involved a couple of thousand unemployed Finns between the ages of 25 and 58, who got €560 ($634) a month through 2017 and 2018 instead of basic unemployment benefits. The second year’s results will be reported in 2020, but as for the first year, it seems the basic income made the subjects feel healthier and less stressed.

However, it didn’t have any meaningful effect on the subjects’ employment—compared with a control group, the participants worked an average of 0.4 days more during 2017, and earned an average of €21 ($24) less over the same year.

The way most western countries deal with that "soft landing" now is unemployment allowance. To me it makes sense to beef that up instead of applying a UBI, if you are imagining a transition situation. It would both cost less and not get rid of very important things like the child allowance. I'm skpetical that his vision has any more benefits for local businesses in the context of automation than continuing with a strong version of the present welfare system.

It is slightly more dystopian since other welfare program are designed to target and help people with specific needs - healthcare doesn't give you a voucher, it gives you a doctor. Child allowance is a specific allowance so that you can buy things for your baby. A UBI with the "rationalisation" of other benefits will marginally improve many lives while negatively impacting those who need resources most.
More importantly, my scenario where the govt starts owning private stock as a form of wealth or corporate tax, will provide a sustainable source of revenue to the govt, preventing the unchecked expansion of private fortunes (unlike his regressive VAT). In a UBI you can have the exact type of dystopian sci-fi inequality I talked about, with a vast number barely getting by on a single cheque and some very wealthy people, essentially 2 worlds. With my system, there should be more resources available to allow the majority to do something either productive or fun.
 

Sweet Square

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On the other hand Sanders doesn't think UBI is doable right now. You could make an argument that the UBI would cover the no 15/hr issue.
I think thats Yang reasoning as well. Although theres a catch(yin and yang situation,I'm so sorry) Yang wants to replace current benefits with this UBI and he doesn't support free health care or collage. The $1000 dollars a month is the end game situation where with Bernie a $15 wage is just one stepping stone.
 

Charlie Foley

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On the other hand Sanders doesn't think UBI is doable right now. You could make an argument that the UBI would cover the no 15/hr issue.
That will be an interesting part of the debate. Certainly better than the “I’m for good things and against bad things” crap some of the others will be offering
 

Raoul

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Why would you think UBI has anything to do with minimum wage?

Edit: though most UBI proposals actually work to adding $5 to minimum wage...which should kinda mean the same. $1000/25 days/ 8 hrs.
As the latter part of your post suggests, it makes up for a lack of adequate wages to live on. That’s not to say wages shouldn’t be higher.