Andrew M. Yang is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, lawyer, and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. He is the founder of Venture for America , a nonprofit organization that focuses on creating jobs in struggling American cities. Yang worked in various startups and early stage growth companies as a founder or executive from 2000 to 2009. After he founded VFA in 2011, the Obama administration selected him in 2012 as a "Champion of Change" and in 2015 as a "Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship". Yang is the author of the 2014 book Smart People Should Build Things and the 2018 book The War on Normal People, which discusses several of his campaign's central ideas.Yang launched his campaign for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 United States presidential election on November 6, 2017. His signature policy is what he calls the "Freedom Dividend", a universal basic income in the form of $1,000 monthly for every American adult, and is known for several distinctive campaign slogans, including "Humanity First", "Make America Think Harder" , and "Not Left, Not Right, Forward". Initially considered a longshot candidate, he gained significant momentum in early 2019 following appearances on several popular shows and podcasts. He has qualified for and participated in all six Democratic debates as of December 2019. The campaign is known for its popularity online, with The New York Times calling Yang "The Internet's Favorite Candidate". Supporters of his campaign are informally known as the "Yang Gang". On multiple occasions, Yang's campaign and supporters have criticized media outlets, such as MSNBC and CNN, for their coverage of Yang, due to repeated instances of exclusion or disproportionately low coverage compared to other candidates.Yang believes that a universal basic income is a necessary response to the rapid development of automation, which is increasingly leading to workforce challenges, and that job displacement by automation is one of the primary factors that led to Donald Trump's election in 2016. Combating these issues, along with other important elements of his platform, comprise what he calls "Human-Centered Capitalism" that focuses on other economic metrics beyond solely the GDP. Yang supports "the spirit of Medicare for All" bill and has said he will work toward a "vision of universal health care for all Americans", though his specific policy proposal differs in its approach than that of the original bill.
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13. January 1975
