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ANDREW YANG By neysa singh

Examining how Andrew Yang’s background provides advantages and disadvantages to his campaign

As a society, we can't hide from the future; we have to build and own it.

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang doesn’t come from a conventional background. After graduating from Brown University and attending law school at Columbia University, he founded a tech startup that ended up failing. Later, he became the CEO of Manhattan Prep, a test-prep company. Currently, with Yang’s national poll average being a meagre 3%, it doesn’t seem as though Yang has a high chance of being the Democratic presidential nominee.

Yang has based his campaign platform around the idea of universal basic income, which provides every American adult with a $1,000 guaranteed monthly income. Yang differentiates himself from other political candidates by stating he is not “a career politician,” but instead an entrepreneur who understands how the economy works. This unique perspective assisted him in creating this economic plan.

Another policy Yang wants to implement is a Medicare for All system that will allow all Americans to receive the healthcare they deserve, subsequently raising the overall quality of life bringing down overall healthcare costs. These policies stem from the issues with healthcare today, including the lack of guaranteed access to medicine for all citizens and incentives for healthcare providers not aligning with providing efficient care.

Yang says he strongly believes that humans are more important than money. Therefore, in his campaign, he introduces the idea of moving away from traditional capitalism to human capitalism, a system that is designed to maximize human well being over economic success. This belief will take into account the struggles of individual people in America

Yang being elected into office would break a lot of barriers in many ways; for example, his election would result in the first Asian American president this country has ever had. Additionally, his diverse background has given him a unique approach to his presidential campaign, effectively separating him from other candidates. Overall, Yang poses as a strong democratic presidential candidate, and his unique policies and background gives him an advantage over other presidential candidates.

Yang is running as a Democrat this election, however he has never held elected office, or been formally attached to a political party. Therefore, his political ideas and reforms are new to many, which can be unreliable in this tense political climate. Therefore, it is unknown if he can step up and shoulder the responsibility of being president.

Another factor to consider is Yang’s idea of universal base income. While it seems to show promising results on the outside, a closer examination of his policies show flaws in his foundation. His ideas are good, but they lack a clear cut path of action, a necessary factor for them to be successful.

Yang’s plan for the climate change crisis calls specifically for geoengineering, projects designed specifically to tackle climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the air, and will require effort from individuals to do things that only the government can really do. It’s a dangerous idea, and Yang’s assertions about the lack of progress in terms of climate change and exaggeration about its effects are discouraging people at a time where they should be on high alert.

Arguably, either the most helpful or hurtful part of Yang’s campaign is his lack of experience. Clearly, Yang and his policies still have room to improve. While some argue that his lack of political experience gives him a fresh point of view on politics, the fact still remains that it makes him a wild card.

In the end, Yang is most likely not going to make it to office. However, his ideas have provided new perspectives and insights on many issues plaguing the country right now. Coming from a financial background, his ideas are strongly rooted from an economical standpoint, but lack the practicality to make realistic change.